KGUN 9 will have team coverage on this issue tonight at 5:00, 6:00 and 10:00. See previous border wall container coverage in the player above.
Governor Doug Ducey has agreed to bring down the shipping containers along the border, as a result of a federal lawsuit.
According to court documents, the federal government filed a lawsuit against the following:
- Gov. Ducey, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Arizona
- The State of Arizona
- The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs
- Kerry L. Muehlenbeck, in her official capacity as Director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management
- The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs
Communications Director C.J. Karamargin tells KGUN 9 the governor's agreement Wednesday also comes as a result of the federal government "finally" acting on the crisis at the border.
For more than a year, the federal government has been touting their effort to resume construction of a permanent border barrier.
Finally, after the situation on our border has turned into a full blown crisis, they’ve decided to act.
Better late than never.
We’re working with the federal government to ensure they can begin construction of this barrier with the urgency this problem demands.
Gov. Ducey's term is set to expire on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Governor-elect Katie Hobbs will have to oversee the removal of the shipping containers once she is sworn in.
Per the documents, this removal should happen before Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, "to the extent feasible and so as not to cause damage to United States' lands properties, and natural resources, Arizona will remove all previously installed shipping containers and associated equipment, materials, vehicles, and other objects from the United States' properties in the U.S. properties in the U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector including lands over which the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation holds an easement on the Cocopah Indian Tribe's West Reservation."
We reached out to the governors' office about whether they are already removing shipping containers. "Details are still being worked out," a spokesperson told KGUN 9.
However, a source in Yuma, Ariz. told KGUN 9 authorities are already in the process of removing shipping containers.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirms it has a project in place to close four gaps in the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Width of the gaps are as follows;
- Gap 1 - 300 feet wide
- Gap 2 - 1,350 feet wide
- Gap 3 - 50 feet wide
- Gap 4 - 50 feet wide
U.S. Border Patrol Environmental Planning Lead Shelly Barnes says it should begin early 2023. Not only should this secure the border, but these plans are expected to "improve the USBP's operational efficiency."
Representative Democrat Raúl M. Grijalva (D-3) commented this removal of the shipping containers.
Building the container wall was an egregious overreach by the state of Arizona and I’m glad to see it’s been ordered to be dismantled.
Taxpayers are once again on the hook for the removal of Governor Ducey’s illegal junkyard border wall which never should have been built on federal and Tribal lands in the first place.
The remaining shipping containers will have to be dealt with under the new administration and I look forward to working with Governor-elect Hobbs on this issue.
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Caleb Fernández is a digital content producer for KGUN 9. After earning his bachelor's degree from Penn State in Advertising/Public Relations, Caleb went to New York where he learned production assistance, photography and art direction. Share your story ideas and important issues with Caleb by emailing caleb.fernandez@kgun9.com or by connecting on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.
