Biden DOJ sues Arizona over border wall installed on federal forest land
Anna Giaritelli
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The Biden administration has sued outgoing Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) for installing shipping containers as a barrier along a small portion of the state’s border with Mexico.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Ducey administration Wednesday, contending that one of the state’s projects of 22-foot-tall double-stacked containers was illegally dropped onto 10 miles of federal land without the U.S. government’s permission.
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“In installing shipping containers on National Forest System lands, Arizona has widened roads and cleared lands for staging areas … cut down or removed scores of trees, clogged drainages, and degraded the habitat of species listed under the Endangered Species Act,” the lawsuit states.
The Biden administration asked the court to order Ducey to remove each container and pay for damages to the border.
However, Ducey’s office shared with the Washington Examiner the state’s attempt to remedy the situation earlier this week. Ducey had told the government the state was willing to help take down some of the project but pushed back against a number of claims against it.
Ducey’s office sent the Biden DOJ a letter Tuesday in response to a letter the federal government had sent his office Monday warning of a forthcoming lawsuit.
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“You make a series of unfounded or inaccurate claims that warrant a response. Please be advised, Arizona stands ready to cooperate with the federal government on construction of a border wall and always has been,” according to the letter from Ducey’s general counsel Anni L. Foster.
Ducey addressed each of the government’s three claims against the project: that it was a public safety risk and harmed the environment, interfered with federal agencies’ ability to do their jobs, and that it prevents the federal government from putting up its own barrier.
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“We are encouraged by the federal government’s long-overdue efforts to finally begin constructing a border barrier,” Foster wrote. “However, the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security that it would finally be filling gaps in the border wall dates back to December 2021. One year ago.”
As evidenced by the lawsuit Wednesday, the Biden administration was not satisfied with the state’s responses.
