Protesters say they are willing to remain in the historic cottonwood tree in Lochiel, Arizona, as long as they can.

Locals say the trees have served as a community gathering place for generations and are ecologically rare.

The tree is the last remaining of four cottonwoods that have stood along the U.S.-Mexico border in Lochiel, Arizona, for between an estimated 100 to 200 years. Border Patrol says…