Feds sue Arizona gov. over makeshift border wall

The U.S. Justice Department sued Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday over double-stacked shipping containers at gaps in the border wall. The federal government says the containers harm wildlife and pose safety risks for locals and those working in the area. Ducey’s plan is to put up to 3,000 containers in the gaps along the border at the cost of $95 million. His plan to fill in the gaps is about a third complete. The Justice Department sued on behalf of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Agriculture, and the Forest Service.

What has Ducey’s response been? Ducey, a Republican, said he’ll move the containers as soon as the government says when it will fill the gaps. The Biden administration said last year that it would fill the gaps in the wall but did not give a timeline. Ducey responded to the complaint in a letter saying the government “owes it to Arizonans” to release a timeline. Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs has said she thinks the containers are a political stunt, but she’s also said the White House isn’t “doing enough” on immigration and border security. Hobbs has said she hasn’t decided what to do with the containers when she takes office Jan. 5. 

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in Compassion on what the midterm election results could mean for border states.