Both US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and President Obama have to sign off for the pipeline to be built. During the 2008 election campaign Obama said he would stop the pipeline. Property owners and citizens in many of the eight US states affected are objecting.

Canadians were among the first arrests in Washington. Church and faith groups, unions, environmental organizations, First Nations affected by the tar sands, academics, and communities all see risk from the pipeline, based on several recent pipeline leaks and the huge carbon and water footprint of bitumen mined in Alberta moved by pipeline to Texas refineries. Six leaks and an explosion have already occurred on the North Dakota section of the Keystone pipeline.

September 26, on The Hill in Ottawa, Canada, is a day of protest to stop the Keystone XL pipeline, and subsidies for oil projects. Over 150 Canadians have signed up to be arrested.

Public figures asking President Obama to stop the pipeline include: Dr. James Hansen, Leonardo Dipaprio, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Tantoo Cardinal, Margot Kidder, several Nobel Laureates, and the Dalai Lama.