ARIZONA, USA — Gov. Doug Ducey seems to have taken much pride in his initiative to stack shipping containers along the Arizona-Mexico border. But a picture taken by a reporter raises some doubts about how effective the makeshift wall can be at blocking out migrants.
The governor announced last week he was ordering the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to place 60 double-stacked shipping containers along a gap at the international border near Yuma.
The cost of constructing the 1,000-foot barrier is estimated to be $6 million.
Ducey's office began to tweet out several photos of the 8,800-pound containers being arranged along the border with razor wire placed on top of the structures. In one tweet, Ducey claimed the containers were "not budging" because they had been linked together and welded shut.
Now a journalist is questioning whether the shipping containers will be sturdy enough to remain in place.
Claudia Ramos, a correspondent for Univision, tweeted out a photo Monday morning showing one of the shipping containers tipped over on its side.
In response, Ducey's office said they believe the sideways container was likely "human-caused," and was the only one that was not yet been bolted and welded. Border Patrol told Ducey's office about it Monday morning, and it has since been repaired.
Luke Crosthwaite with Crosthwaite Custom Construction tells 12News, that shipping containers can be a great barrier for anything, but they need to be reinforced.
“The gauge on the steel is not the thickest in the world, anyone with a little elbow grease and a torch could blow right through it, and they're not the heaviest things in the world either when they're empty. We cut them open all day, every day, and put tube steel in them and doors and windows and stuff, so as far as fabrication goes anyone who has fabrication knowledge can definitely get through these things,” he explained.
Arizona Director of Homeland Security Tim Roemer previously said that closing key gaps on the border will allow federal border security officials to concentrate resources in other areas. He also believes the move will help funnel asylum seekers to ports of entry.
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