West News Wire: To be able to preserve more than 100 double-stacked shipping containers that Republican Governor Doug Ducey had erected to close gaps along the U.S.-near the southwest desert town of Yuma, the state of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
In the complaint, which was filed on Friday in federal court in Arizona, it is demanded that the state be granted the right to take whatever unilateral action it deems necessary to protect its citizens against border crossings by migrants.
Arizona had to take action because of Ducey’s complaints that the federal government is not doing enough to deter migrants from entering the state. In August, the shipping containers were placed.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation last week sent a letter telling Arizona to take down the containers, saying they are unauthorized and violate U.S. law. Arizona refused.
The Cocopah Indian Tribe in southwestern Arizona also complained that some of the containers were placed on its reservation without permission.
The Bureau of Reclamation also demanded that no new containers be placed, saying it hoped to prevent conflicts with federal construction contracts to fill the gaps in the wall near the Morelos Dam in the Yuma, Arizona area.
The border wall promoted by former President Donald Trump remains a potent issue for Republican politicians hoping to show their support for border security.
Migrants have continued to avoid the recently erected barriers by going around them, including through the Cocopah reservation.
