Arizona At Odds With Biden Admin Over Border Wall Gap Solution
(AmericanProsperity.com) – A total of 130 metal shipping containers currently sit, double-stacked and welded together, across gaps in the Arizona-Mexico border. Governor Doug Ducey (R) celebrated the effort in August when he announced he’d successfully closed all the holes in his state that would have allowed immigrants to enter the country illegally.
The Biden Administration disapproved of the move, ordering the containers’ removal on October 14. Governor Ducey immediately fired back, saying he had no intention of moving anything until the federal government made arrangements to close the gaps.
Desperate Measures
Governor Ducey and other proponents of the decision to use shipping containers have insisted they had to do something to stem the influx of illegal crossings. With more than 3,800 feet of open border, they say desperately needed barriers, and the $13 million effort promised to stop — or at least slow down — the masses of people from South America and Mexico attempting to use Arizona as their entryway. Each set stands about 22 feet tall, with about four feet of razor wire on top, and weighs over 8000 pounds.
Douglas Nicholls, mayor of Yuma, AZ, agreed with the move, claiming about half of the illegal border crossings occur within his region. Arizona’s Department of Homeland Security Director, Tim Roemer, also felt it was necessary. He told Fox 5 News, “the number of gotaways on the southwest is close to one million alone, [and] this protects that.”
Butting Heads
The Biden Administration claims many of the containers sit on land under the jurisdiction of either the US Bureau of Reclamation or Cocopah Indian Tribe’s West Reservation. Because no one asked permission from either entity to place the makeshift barriers on their land, the act qualifies as trespassing and violates federal law.
The Bureau of Reclamation wants Arizona to remove 80 containers from the Yuma area and 42 more from Cocopah Reservation land. It also has asked officials to refrain from any additional building. The bureau has reportedly secured contracts to build actual barriers in two of the gaps, adding that an additional two contracts are likely on the way. It alleges the continued presence of the shipping containers would cause an “unnecessary delay” in the construction plans.
Ducey has said he’ll believe it when he sees it. His office pointed out the federal government has promised construction in those areas for nearly a year, adding, “[Arizona] cannot rely on the federal government to ensure its security.”
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