Arizona will pay $2.1 million to the federal government after the state was sued over a makeshift border wall made up of shipping containers to deter illegal immigration into the U.S.
The Department of Justice brought legal action against Arizona in December 2022 after then-Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, issued an executive order to begin placing shipping containers along Arizona’s border with Mexico four months earlier. After the DOJ claimed that the makeshift wall had been erected “unlawfully and without authority,” thereby “damaging the United States,” Ducey agreed to remove the barriers.
Now Arizona will pay the U.S. Forest Service for environmental remediation efforts after federal officials said the containers had damaged federal land. The shipping containers had been placed along the border in Cochise and Yuma counties, where crossings have been high. The federal suit against Arizona is expected to be withdrawn after the remediation payment is complete,…