State Rebuffs Biden By Constructing New Border Barrier Along 10 Miles Of Coronado National Forest

October 24, 2022 Terri Jo Neff
border barrier

An effort to enhance border security across a large swath of the Coronado National Forest has gotten underway southwest of Sierra Vista, courtesy of a $95 million state project that will create a 22-foot high, 10-mile long barrier to replace the current four-foot fence that is toppled in many spots.

“We stepped up to the plate in Cochise County,” Gov. Doug Ducey announced Monday. “Construction on a 10.25-mile border wall gap began this morning. It will take approx. 2,770 containers across this extremely rugged terrain, but we are determined to fill the gap – literally.”

The barrier will be created by double stacking shipping containers, then welding them together and adding concertina wire on the top. The objective is to route as many border crossers as possible to a smaller number of crossing points, making it easier for the U.S. Border Patrol to make encounters, according to state officials.

President Joe Biden cancelled the border wall improvement project back in January 2021, allowing countless migrants to cross into Arizona unrestricted through or over a decades-old border “wall” that is no more than four feet tall across much of the Coronado National Forest.

Ducey’s project in Cochise County comes on the heels of a similar state-constructed container border barrier built in only 11 days last month in Yuma County. The Yuma County project covered seven-tenths of a mile and required only 130 of the double-stacked containers.

The Cochise County location is a significantly larger undertaking near Montezuma Pass, a popular recreation and scenic area that has been the subject of frequent safety warnings due to the presence of Cartel operatives, border crossers, and human smuggling drivers inexperienced with the narrow gravel roads which wind through the area.

Roughly two dozen containers along with bulldozers and backhoes were moved into the Coronado National Forest earlier this month in an area south of Copper Canyon. Approval for the equipment was requested by the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (AzDEMA) last month but was not provided at the time the equipment was brought in under the control of Ashbritt, a state contractor.

Then on Oct. 7, a local U.S. Forest Service supervisor wrote to AzDEMA to reiterate the need for “proper authorization” from the federal agency before engaging in any activities similar to the Yuma County border barrier. Ducey pledged, however, to continue the state’s border barrier mission despite pushback from the White House.

The governor’s decision comes as welcomed news for Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, whose county shares 80 miles of border with Mexico. Dannels stands united with Ducey and AzDEMA in their efforts to secure the border, “for the good of my citizens and this state,” he told Arizona Daily Independent.

“Cochise County continues to be on the front line of smuggling and having support from our state and Governor is vital to the protection and security of our citizens impacted by the drastic increase in our border related smuggling and crime,” Dannels said.

And like Ducey, the sheriff lays the blame squarely at the front doors of the White House and Congress.

“Currently, this administration and members within our US Congress have not prioritized our southern border, creating vulnerabilities to those living on the border,” Dannels said. “Absent the federal government, local and state governments must unite and work closely for those we took an Oath to protect.”