Arizona agrees to dismantle shipping container border wall
Arizona agrees to dismantle border wall made of shipping containers
Outgoing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has agreed to dismantle a makeshift border wall that triggered a lawsuit by the federal government and rankled environmentalists.
In an agreement reached Wednesday with the Biden administration, Ducey said he would stop installing shipping containers on federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to court documents filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.
The agreement comes one week after federal officials filed a lawsuit against Ducey’s administration saying the border project was illegally built on federal land.
It requires Arizona to remove containers installed in the Coronado National Forest by Jan. 4. State agencies must consult with the U.S. Forest Service to ensure materials are removed safely and without further damaging natural resources.
"We're ecstatic," said Robin Silver with the Center for Biological Diversity, which filed a notice of intent to sue Ducey’s office earlier this month over the wall because of ecological concerns.
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