Arizona agreed to remove shipping containers it installed along its border with Mexico after a legal battle with the federal government. About 125 containers have been used to fill gaps along the border in Yuma, Az. The state used 40-foot-long steel boxes stacked two high and topped with razor wire as a barrier, reports the Wall Street Journal. A stipulation filed in court on Wednesday said the shipping containers would be removed by Jan. 4. The state will also remove “associated equipment, materials, vehicles, and other objects.”
The move concludes a monthslong battle over border security. Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order in August to install the container walls. The project is similar to the barriers Texas Gov. Greg Abbott built along sections of the Rio Grande this year. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation sent a letter to Arizona in October saying the project was effectively trespassing on federal land. Arizona sued the federal government in response. President Biden ordered a halt to construction on border-wall projects after he took office in 2021, but the administration has authorized several projects to make repairs or fill gaps.