Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was in Yuma Thursday to see the shipping containers he had authorized to fill gaps in border fencing near Yuma and Gadsden for the first time in person.
Gov. Ducey said the containers are necessary due to inaction by the Biden administration on border security.
That, he said, has allowed thousands of migrants to continue to enter illegally in the Yuma Sector, which Ducey tied to fentanyl he says is coming across the border and harming local communities.
However, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a majority of the fentanyl that enters the United States comes through points of entry on private vehicles, not between them.
“The federal government’s refusal to action means that we must," Ducey told reporters near the Morelos Dam. "Now that we’ve addressed gaps like this in Yuma, we’re looking at other areas of the border where we can replicate this success quickly, efficiently and safely.”
The governor also addressed complaints that the containers are an eyesore and ineffective, saying border security isn’t pretty, and that the construction is funneling migrants to fewer areas where Border Patrol agents apprehend them.
One of those areas is on the Cocopah Tribe's Reservation.
Ducey said he will communicate with the Tribe about border security on their tribal lands.
