Biden administration sues this state for protecting its border

AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File

The governor of Arizona has ordered shipping containers to be placed along the state border with Mexico. The shipping containers fill in gaps left in the border wall when construction was halted, large gaps that allow illegal immigrants to easily walk through into Arizona. The Biden administration sued Arizona on Wednesday to stop putting up the shipping containers and remove those already up.

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The Biden administration has no desire to secure the southern border, that has been proven time and time again. However, the administration is stepping in now and insisting that Governor Doug Ducey stop what he’s doing. Why? The reason is because the shipping containers are being placed on federal land or on land that belongs to a Native American tribe.

The federal government, via the Bureau of Reclamation has issued warnings to Arizona, claiming that the containers were within the vicinity of the Morelos Dam and also on land that is part of the Cocopah Indian Tribe’s West Reservation. It also said that the placement interferes with a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) project to fill the gaps, and calls on Arizona to stop further construction and assist in removing the containers.

Governor Ducey ignored the administration’s warnings and continued to put shipping containers on the border. “Arizona has had enough,” Ducey said in a statement at the time. “We can’t wait any longer.” In other words, Biden won’t do anything to secure the border but he doesn’t want border state governors to do anything, either. And, to claim that the shipping containers interfere with construction underway is laughable. Who are they trying to gaslight?

The photo under the headline of this post is of shipping containers in the Yuma, Arizona area that the Cocopah Indian tribe objected to and called for their removal. The state has been putting up a makeshift type of border wall with the shipping containers and using razor wire to stop the migrants from coming through. Border state governors are essentially on their own to protect their residents and their land. The Biden administration counters that Arizona is trespassing on federal lands.

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The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, says that the installation of multi-ton shipping containers, welded shut and topped with razor wire, “damage[s] federal lands, threaten[s] public safety, and impede[s] the ability of federal agencies and officials, including law enforcement personnel, to perform their official duties.”

The lawsuit is the latest back-and-forth between Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and the Biden administration over Ducey’s decision earlier this year to fill gaps in the border wall with shipping containers. The move was taken in response to the ongoing crisis at the border which saw more than 2.3 million migrant encounters along the border in FY 2022.

The federal government’s lawsuit is the latest move in the back and forth with Arizona. In October, Governor Ducey’s administration filed a lawsuit that seeks to affirm Arizona’s right to defend itself. The open borders supporters don’t like to hear the word but the unprecedented numbers of illegal migrants crossing the southern border into border states since Biden took office is an invasion. That’s a loaded word but it fits. What else would we call it? Most will not qualify for asylum, according to current laws, as they are coming for jobs and a better way of life. That’s certainly understandable but it is not reason enough to expect asylum.

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Though Biden administration officials frequently claim that they are an administration that respects law and order, that is not the case when it comes to immigration laws already on the books. Illegal immigrants know that once they cross over the border and set foot on American soil, they will very likely be allowed to remain in the country. The Biden border crisis is a humanitarian crisis and a national security crisis. That cannot be overstated. That is the harsh reality. Governor Ducey, who leaves office in January, is not backing down.

“Our border communities are overwhelmed by illegal activity as a result of the Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border,” Ducey said in a statement. “Arizona is taking action to protest on behalf of our citizens. With this lawsuit, we’re pushing back against efforts by federal bureaucrats to reverse the progress we’ve made.”

“The safety and security of Arizona and its citizens must not be ignored. Arizona is going to do the job that Joe Biden refuses to do — secure the border in any way we can. We’re not backing down,” he said.

The Biden administration explained the lawsuit was necessary because Arizona won’t do as it wishes.

“Not only has Arizona refused to halt its trespasses and remove the shipping containers from federal lands, but it has indicated that it will continue to trespass on federal lands and install additional shipping containers,” the lawsuit says. “As a result, the United States brings this action to obtain appropriate relief for Arizona’s unlawful continuing trespasses and invasions of the United States’ paramount sovereign property rights and interests under the U.S. Constitution.”

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Ducey says it’s nonsense that Arizona isn’t cooperating with construction on the border. Why would the governor not cooperate with a project he supports, a border wall along the southern border?

Unfortunately, the incoming Democrat governor, Katie Hobbs, supports the Biden administration’s border policies. She is looking into how to clear out the shipping containers.

I write about the Biden border crisis frequently, I know that. But, it’s important. It’s important for the sovereignty of our country and for national security. The humanitarian crisis is a disgrace, the drug cartels run parts of the border and bring in drugs that are killing record numbers of Americans, including fentanyl. Human traffickers are making millions of dollars off human suffering. There is nothing humane about a porous border. The mainstream media rarely covers the southern border. The only cable network that has covered the southern border from the beginning of the Biden border crisis is Fox. That network has done yeoman’s work. The daily goings-on, the constant stream of illegal immigrants boldly crossing the Rio Grande River or the desert into a border state is like a car wreck – you just can’t look away. And, we shouldn’t.

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Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 20, 2024
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