Federal officials say Arizona’s ‘shipping container wall’ is illegal

In August, Arizona found a fairly cheap way to plug gaps in the border wall. The state double-stacked shipping containers and put some razor wire on the top. This week, the federal government ordered the containers removed.

Gaps in the border wall around Yuma, Arizona made the area a recent hotspot of illegal migrant crossings. When President Biden took office, he halted all border wall projects. This past July, however, his administration approved funding for smaller projects, which included filling the gaps near Yuma.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, though, said the federal government was moving too slowly. At the same time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was reporting the highest number of migrant encounters since record keeping began.

On Aug. 12, the first of the 60-foot-long and 9-foot-tall containers was installed. Ducey’s original plan called for filling three gaps in the border wall totaling more than 3,000 feet.

Migrants are avoiding the shipping containers, mostly by going around them. When he ordered their installation, Gov. Ducey said Arizona was doing the job the federal government failed to do, and that Arizona was showing how quickly and efficiently the border can be made secure.

The federal government said this week the containers are illegal and need to be removed immediately so contractors can start their work to build a more permanent wall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.