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Arizona 'ready to assist in the removal' of container barrier along border, letter from governor's office says

Border was always meant to be temporary, letter says

Ducey's container wall effort began in late summer in Yuma in western Arizona, a popular crossing point, with scores of asylum-seekers arriving daily and often finding ways to circumvent the new barriers.

By: KGUN 9 News Staff , abc15.com staff

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PHOENIX — Arizona officials have responded to federal officials who reportedly threatened legal action regarding the shipping container barrier along the Arizona-Mexico border.

The Department of Agriculture and United States Department of the Interior reportedly made the claims to Arizona officials earlier this week, a letter shows.

Arizona's Office of the Governor sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday saying, it “stands ready to cooperate with the federal government on construction of a border wall and always has been.”

The note also says that construction of the container barrier “has ceased” since previous discussions between the entities.

“Arizona’s border barrier was always intended to be a temporary solution until the federal government erects a permanent solution.”

The note continued: “Arizona agencies and contractors stand ready to assist in the removal of the barriers, but the federal government owes it to Arizonans and all Americans to release a timeline on when the construction will begin and details about how it will secure the border while construction is underway.”

Arizona officials have also asked to be put in direct contact with the manager of the border wall project.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, responded online to the Justice Department's course of action, saying "We need immediate action to finally address the illegal and useless container wall on federal and Tribal lands."

"Gov. Ducey has wasted $95 million in taxpayer money, blocked wildlife corridors, and manufactured a dangerous situation with unauthorized armed security personnel along our southern border. [Gov. Ducey] is determined to leave office with a mess & force someone else to clean it up," Grijalva wrote.

Read the letter from the Governor's office below:

Taking separate legal action Wednesday, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of of intent to sue Ducey's administration over another violation of federal law: It is illegal, according to the Clean Water Act, to block the flow of streams.

Small intermittent and ephemeral streams, such as those running along the borderlands, make up a majority of the waterways in the U.S., and even those that do not flow perennially are protected by the Clean Water Act.

In the case of Arizona's waterways, water flowing from the Huachuca Mountains and through both sides of the border region feed into headwaters for protected riparian corridors, including the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area.

“These giant pieces of trash are damming streams that feed the San Pedro River, a desert oasis that’s already in danger of drying up,” said Robin Silver, a co-founder of the Center. “Ducey’s shameful political stunt will starve the Southwest’s last free-flowing river of water, further jeopardizing one of Arizona’s crown jewels and an international birding mecca. This is another stark reminder that this governor has never cared about Arizona.”

A project was launched to fill the gaps by Ducey on August 12. Previously on July 28, the Biden administration authorized the completion of the Trump-funded U.S.-Mexico border wall in an open area of southern Arizona near Yuma that has become one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.

After the federal government asked Ducey to take down the wall, he filed a lawsuit.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway recently threatened action against contractors hired by Governor Doug Ducey’s office who were filling in the gaps of the border wall with shipping containers.

Officials from Coronado National Forest also warned visitors to the area to stay clear of the southern border, citing "safety hazards" and "unauthorized armed security personnel."