PHOENIX — Arizona officials have responded to federal officials who reportedly threatened legal action regarding the shipping container barrier along the Arizona-Mexico border.
The Department of Agriculture and United States Department of Interior reportedly made the claims to Arizona officials earlier this week, a letter shows.
Arizona's Office of the Governor sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice Tuesday saying, it “stands ready to cooperate with the federal government on construction of a border wall and always has been.”
The note also says that construction of the container barrier “has ceased” since previous discussions between the entities.
Video in the player above shows previous ABC15 coverage of this topic.
“Arizona’s border barrier was always intended to be a temporary solution until the federal government erects a permanent solution.”
The note continued: “Arizona agencies and contractors stand ready to assist in the removal of the barriers, but the federal government owes it to Arizonans and all Americans to release a timeline on when the construction will begin and details about how it will secure the border while construction is underway.”
Arizona officials have also asked to be put in direct contact with the manager of the border wall project.
Read the letter below:
A project was launched to fill the gaps by Ducey on August 12. Previously on July 28, the Biden administration authorized the completion of the Trump-funded U.S.-Mexico border wall in an open area of southern Arizona near Yuma that has become one of the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.
After the federal government asked Ducey to take down the wall, he filed a lawsuit.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway recently threatened action against contractors hired by Governor Doug Ducey’s office who were filling in the gaps of the border wall with shipping containers.
Officials from Coronado National Forest also warned visitors to the area to stay clear of the southern border, citing "safety hazards" and "unauthorized armed security personnel."
