Arizona agrees to dismantle border shipping container wall

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Wednesday agreed to take down the wall of shipping containers along the U.S.-Mexico border under pressure from the Biden administration. 

On December 15, the U.S. government sued the state of Arizona and Governor Ducey for using shipping containers to close gaps along the border wall, claiming that such a move trespasses federal land and had a significant environmental impact. In the complaint, the Department of Justice asked that Arizona “immediately” halt the placement of new containers. 

According to court documents filed on Thursday with the U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Ducey reached a settlement with the Department of Justice. 

Per the agreement, Arizona will remove all shipping containers installed at the border, as well as all associated equipment, materials, vehicles, and other objects along the border without damaging U.S. natural resources. 

Ducey had previously told U.S. officials that the shipping containers were only a temporary measure. He added that he would remove them as soon as the Biden administration gave him a date of when the border wall gaps would be filled.

"For more than a year, the federal government has been touting their effort to resume construction of a permanent border barrier. Finally, after the situation on our border has turned into a full-blown crisis, they’ve decided to act. Better late than never," Ducey spokesperson CJ Karamargin told Fox News.  

"We’re working with the federal government to ensure they can begin construction of this barrier with the urgency this problem demands," Karamargin added. 

Beginning in August, Arizona placed around 3,000 double-stacked shipping containers topped with razor wire along sections of the U.S.-Mexico border, costing the state government around $95 million.