YUMA, Ariz. — Gov. Doug Ducey is taking legal action to ensure Arizona can continue using stacked shipping containers as barriers at the U.S.-Mexico border to discourage illegal entries into the country.
A week after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation warned Ducey he didn't have the authority to place shipping containers near Yuma, the governor is fighting back by filing a lawsuit to resolve the dispute.
Ducey's office announced Friday that the governor has filed a lawsuit in court seeking to affirm the state's decision to spend $6 million on placing barriers at the border.
The lawsuit claims Ducey was compelled to take action at the border due to rising crime rates throughout Arizona since 2011.
"Due to the worsening conditions on Arizona’s southern border and the crush of demand on private, local, and state resources, Governor Ducey was left with no choice but to step in for the federal government to protect the citizens of Arizona," the civil complaint states.
Studies have suggested that undocumented immigrants are convicted of crimes at much lower rates than native-born Americans. Data collected in Texas showed that U.S.-born citizens are over 2-times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes than undocumented immigrants, according to research published in 2020.
Regardless of who is committing the crime in Arizona, the governor's complaint emphasizes the point that the state's "wave of crime" needed to be controlled and the shipping containers were used to manage the situation.
"The shipping containers have proven to be an effective temporary solution, as nearly 3,820 feet of previously open border near the overwhelmed community in Yuma is now closed," the complaint states.
In a letter sent to Ducey last week, the Bureau of Reclamation said the shipping containers are harming federal lands and their placement interferes with the Biden Administration's plans to close gaps in the border fence in the area.
Ducey is now asking the courts to declare the governor has the authority to block off the border without the federal government's blessing.
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