A border wall constructed of shipping containers and topped with concertina wire built on federal land, as directed by former Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, stands along the U.S.–Mexico border in the Coronado National Forest near Hereford, Ariz., on Dec. 20, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
Arizona has agreed to pay the Biden administration $2.1 million as part of a settlement for a lawsuit that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had filed against the state over a makeshift wall made of shipping containers at the Arizona–Mexico border.
The state was given a bill of $2.1 million on Aug. 22 by the U.S. Forest Service, said Judy Kioski, a spokeswoman for Arizona’s Division of Emergency Management, according to an Aug. 30 report by the Arizona Republic.
The Forest Service indicated that it would use the funds to address the millions of dollars in damage done to federal and tribal territories by the containers.
Once Arizona pays the bill, the case will be dismissed, pending a final judicial order.
Unless dismissed ahead of time, the lawsuit is set to continue until Sept. 26. In the event that it isn’t dismissed, a joint progress report will be required from both parties.
Under former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, storage containers were positioned at gaps in the wall that had been built by the Trump administration, in order to mitigate illegal border crossings.
But the action resulted in a lawsuit filed by the DOJ in December 2022, after which Mr. Ducey agreed to take down the barrier. According to court filings, the federal government would, once the containers were taken down, commit to building a permanent border barrier at the Yuma Sector, Arizona’s busiest illegal border crossing. U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the project on Jan. 6.
Shipping containers fill a previous gap in the U.S.–Mexico border wall in Yuma, Arizona, on Sept. 27, 2022. Some gaps in the wall built by the Trump administration were filled with shipping containers by the Arizona state government in order to make it more difficult for immigrants to cross in certain areas. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Makeshift Border Wall Erected to Combat Illegal Immigration
Mr. Ducey had ordered the building of the makeshift wall in late 2022 with the intention of helping stem the tide of illegal border crossings until a permanent solution could be found.
“We can’t wait any longer. The Biden administration’s lack of urgency on border security is a dereliction of duty. For the past two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border,” Mr. Ducey said in a statement in August 2022.
Arizona used more than 120 shipping containers to plug more than 3,820 feet of gaps in the border wall in Yuma County.In late October 2022, the state started to erect a separate shipping container barrier in Cochise County, in the Coronado National Forest, to cover a 10-mile gap that would take some 2,770 containers.
In October 2022, federal officials told Arizona that it was violating federal law, but the state ignored the warning.
Mr. Ducey, in response, sued the federal government (pdf) in the same month after receiving the notice. His lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, asked the court to affirm the state’s right to defend itself, citing an “unprecedented crisis” regarding illegal immigration that has arisen in Arizona and “that is the creation of the federal government.”
The DOJ in December 2022 filed a separate federal lawsuit against the state, Mr. Ducey, and other state officials, saying the containers were illegally placed on federal land. The land could be used only if Arizona had been given permission by the government, but the state hadn’t sought permission and didn’t have the proper federal permits, the department stated. It also stated that the makeshift wall had harmed federal lands and threatened public safety, as well as hindered federal agencies from carrying out their jobs.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey talks to reporters at the White House in Washington on April 3, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Barrier Dismantled
By Dec. 21, 2022, Mr. Ducey’s administration had agreed to dismantle the shipping container border barrier. Court documents show that the two sides entered into the agreement “to avoid the United States moving for an immediate temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction.”
Under the agreement, the state of Arizona stated that it would stop putting in additional containers and would remove all of the ones previously installed “to the extent feasible” and so as to not cause damage to U.S. lands, properties, and natural resources by Jan. 4—one day before Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, was sworn in. Ms. Hobbs had been critical of Mr. Ducey’s wall project, calling it ineffective and a political stunt.
A spokesperson for Mr. Ducey told The Week that he had agreed to remove the containers because the Biden administration agreed to put up a permanent barrier in border wall gaps near Yuma.
All of the shipping containers have since been removed from federal land in Cochise and Yuma counties near the border, and “extensive remediation efforts” have been executed to address the environmental harm caused by the project, the Arizona Republic reported, citing a joint status report from Aug. 23 that was submitted by the federal government, Arizona, and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Shipping containers that would be used to fill a 1,000-foot gap in the border wall with Mexico near Yuma, Ariz. (Arizona Governor's Office via AP)
Shipping Containers for Sale
Mr. Ducey had initially promised to build about 10 miles of makeshift border barrier. Ultimately, roughly four miles to 4 1/2 miles of wall were erected, costing the state about $95 million in fees to Florida management and logistics contractor AshBritt. The money came from a $335 million Arizona Border Security Fund that state lawmakers had approved in 2022.
AshBritt was ultimately paid a total of about $194.7 million to erect and later dismantle the shipping container barrier, as well as to transport away the unused containers, AZPM reported in late June. That comes to “roughly $40 to $50 million per mile, including the cost to take the containers away,” according to the outlet.
More than 2,000 shipping containers have been put up for sale—available from June 1 through Sept. 30—to governments and nonprofits. If there are any remaining by Oct. 1, the public will have a chance to purchase them. Costs range from $500 to $2,000, depending on the size and condition of the container.
Katabella Roberts and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
