Governor Doug Ducey was in Yuma County Thursday to tout the semi-permanent fencing the state of Arizona installed in gaps along the Mexico border. The governor's press conference was held in front of a section of border fencing plugged in by shipping containers, seen behind Ducey.
Chris McDaniel/KAWC
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Several prominent officials and members of law enforcement joined Governor Doug Ducey for his press conference on Thursday.
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During the Conference, Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, said closing the gaps in the border fencing has forced drug smugglers and illegal immigrants to funnel to other areas where there is still no fencing, such as in East County south of Wellton. He said politics need to be removed from law enforcement so that efforts to secure the border can proceed.
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Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey (R).
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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey responds to a question from KAWC's Victor Calderon during Thursday's press conference at the border.
Chris McDaniel/KAWC
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During his press conference in Yuma County Thursday, Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, said part of the reason to shore up the border with makeshift fencing was to help stem the tide of fentanyl. He did not provide hard data on whether the fences have actually deterred drug smuggling operations, when pressed by reporters.
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The state of Arizona has filled in several gaps in the border fence with Mexico in Yuma County with shipping containers, seen here.
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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) held a press conference in Yuma County Thursday to tout the makeshift barriers erected by state contractors over the summer along the international border with Mexico. The barriers consist of double stacked shipping containers topped with barbed wire. At left is Yuma county Supervisor, Jonathan Lines. At Right is city of Yuma Mayor, Doug Nicholls.
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Arizona Governor, Doug Ducey, says the makeshift fencing installed by the state of Arizona along several gaps at the Mexico border will remain in place until the federal government acts to erect permanent steel fencing -- such as that seen behind him here.
Chris McDaniel/KAWC
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A semi-truck hauls steel fencing to a storage area along the border fence with Mexico on Thursday, September 8, 2022. The permanent fencing was not placed in several gaps along the border fence, which were filled in with shipping containers by contractors working for the state of Arizona.
Chris McDaniel/KAWC
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Major General Kerry Muehlenbeck, Adjutant General of Arizona and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, which is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities of Arizona's Army and Air National Guard, speaks about state led efforts to fill in gaps in the border wall.
Chris McDaniel/KAWC
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Thursday held a Press Conference in front of temporary fencing at the International Border with Mexico.
Chris McDaniel is a Yuma native and fourth generation graduate of Yuma High School. He began his print journalism career at the Yuma Sun as a reporter in 2009. He later worked in the Pacific Northwest as an editor for Peninsula Daily News, as arts editor for The Port Townsend and Jefferson County Leader, and as publisher for a small weekly newspaper in the badlands of Montana. He is a graduate of Peninsula College, where he earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Management degree. He has served as host for KAWC's Morning Edition and All Things Considered and spends much of his time gathering reports from the field in Yuma and La Paz Counties.