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Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025

Did federal officials order Arizona to remove a makeshift portion of the border wall made of shipping crates?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

A stretch of border barrier constructed in 2022 under then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was later removed following pushback from the federal government. The barrier, assembled using shipping containers and barbed wire, spanned unfenced sections of the state’s shared border with Mexico.

 

The barrier ran through lands belonging to the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, which are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Ducey asked a judge to affirm the state’s right to construct the barrier, a position federal officials rebuffed.

The Biden Administration later filed its own suit calling for the removal of the containers and remediation for any damages to federal lands. Ducey ultimately agreed to remove the containers and pay $2.1 million in damages, stating that he has always seen the barrier as a temporary solution.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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