Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has ordered 60 double-stacked shipping containers to be placed in border fence gaps near Yuma, the state’s busiest illegal border crossing area.
The containers will be reinforced with concertina wire at the top, according to the governor, who issued an executive order for the work to begin on Aug. 12.
“Arizona has had enough,” Ducey, a Republican, said in a news release.
“We can’t wait any longer. The Biden administration’s lack of urgency on border security is a dereliction of duty. For the last two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border.”
Contractors started placing the shipping containers on Aug. 12 and expect to complete the 1,000-foot gap in the border wall on Aug. 14. It’s expected to cost $6 million.
The stacked shipping containers will reach about 22-feet high and will be linked together and welded shut, Ducey said. The existing border wall constructed during the Trump era is 30-feet high.
Border Patrol agents in the Yuma Sector have experienced the largest spike in apprehensions along the southern border since President Joe Biden took office.
During fiscal year 2022, minus three months still to be reported, border agents have arrested more than 162,700 illegal crossers, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
In fiscal 2021, the total was more than 184,500, while in fiscal 2020 Border Patrol agents apprehended just over 8,700 illegal crossers.
