A Flouted Solution: The Arizona “Border Wall” Backlash

The governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, has utilized his waning days in office to create a controversial solution  to limiting the migrants passing through the US-Mexico border. The solution is to create a double-stacked shipping container wall with barbed wire on the border. 

Ducey has utilized construction crews to jumpstart the project. However, due to recent protests, the project has been slowed. There has mainly been opposition to this project due to environmental issues, however, a sheriff in Cochise county supports the project. The project is facing opposition because the shipping container wall is being built on federal and tribal land. Additionally, it poses a danger to the native species and natural water systems in the region. Hence, the ecosystem and the food chain will be harmed. 

With this in mind, Sheriff David Hathaway of Santa Cruz County plans to arrest the construction crews if they reach his county. He told news reporters that the land they are working on is entirely federal land. Federal agencies have called the work unlawful and have told state officials to stop the work. In response to this opposition, Ducey filed a lawsuit allowing the state to mitigate migrants from crossing the border by building the shipping container wall. The federal government is asking for the lawsuit to be dismissed. 

The elected governor, Ms. Hobbs has been opposed to the shipping container border but hasn’t given a solid answer as to what she plans to do with them after her inauguration. She has made it clear that she would like to conduct a cost analysis of removing the shipping containers before she takes action. It will be important to see what impact the border leaves on the environment during the remainder of Ducey’s term as it will influence Ms. Hobbs’ decision.