Phoenix (AP) – Former Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s shipping container border barrier was largely dismantled in time for the new Democratic administration, costing tens of millions of dollars to install and remove in just a few months.

The removal of a giant red, gold, and blue iron box is making a major visual change to the landscape-affected area of ​​southern Arizona. That’s because the new governor is in power, and on top of his $95 million budget, he has another $76 million in state funds going toward vessel removal. cost to put them there.

Ducey said the container was placed at an opening along the border near Yuma’s western community. Prairie Valley in Cochise County, Eastern Arizona It was intended as a temporary measure until the Biden administration embarked on permanent construction to secure the border.

Governor Katie Hobbs, who was sworn in this week, was among the Democrats who called it a political stunt.

Border security is a key issue for President Donald Trump and a focus for many Republicans. Hobbes’ Republican rival Kari Lake campaigned on the promise of sending the National Guard to the border on his first day in office.

The matter was brought to federal court after Ducey filed a lawsuit and sought to have Arizona recognized as having sole or joint jurisdiction over federal land on which the containers were located. He also argued that Arizona has the right to protect its residents from illegal immigration, which he called a humanitarian crisis.

An agreement between the Ducey administration and federal agencies named in his lawsuit called for the containers to be offloaded by Wednesday, the day before Hobbes’ inauguration. All deadlines for lawsuits have been extended by 30 days to give Attorney General Chris Mays time to review the situation.

more: Update on shipping containers on the Arizona-Mexico border where Katie Hobbs became governor

In Yuma, all 130 containers spanning about 3,800 feet (about 1,160 meters) had been removed by Tuesday.

Workers continue to tear down container walls in Cochise County, said Russ, who regularly visits sites in the remote San Rafael Valley as a Southwest Conservation Advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. McSpadden said.

About a third of the 3,000 containers were built there, and there were fears that it might harm local wildlife and natural water systems before protesters stopped work in early December. rice field. Environmentalists said work in the Coronado National Forest endangers endangered and endangered species such as the Western-billed Cuckoo and the Spotted Owl.

more: Arizona has agreed to remove shipping containers from part of the U.S.-Mexico border, court documents say

Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said this week that the U.S. government is planning permanent construction to fill a large gap around the Morelos dam section, but is concerned about the gap that is not scheduled to be built.

The U.S. Border Patrol said Friday that work to close the gap near Morelos Dam will begin next week, noting that the rapidly flowing Colorado River poses a potential danger of drowning and other injuries to migrants and officials. .

Mr. Nichols, a Republican, is a Republican who is in regular contact with the White House and U.S. agencies, and he talks about the arrival of hundreds of asylum seekers at his tiny home in the city every day.

Nichols said he had already discussed border security with the Hobbes administration and wanted the governor to visit the area.

“I hope she will be here sooner or later,” he said. “We still feel like it’s an emergency.”

more: Yuma County declares state of emergency as migrants continue to flock to border

Under Ducey, Arizona bussed hundreds of immigrants from the Yuma area to the US capital.

Nichols said regular bus trips to Washington have continued despite the governor’s change, with the nonprofit Border Health Regional Center continuing the contract.

He said that with no immigrant shelters, Yuma was not prepared to help newcomers who needed a place to stay, and that providing buses to Washington meant that many of them might have families. He said he would be able to travel freely to the east coast where he does not.

more: Immigrant buses drop off daily at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

The Washington nonprofit says that unlike buses of immigrants sent from Texas to cities on the East Coast, buses from Arizona will have detailed manifestos of passengers and their nationalities, coordinated arrival times, and medical personnel on each trip. says he is riding. The Ducey administration has sent more than 2,500 immigrants on about 70 trips to Washington since May.

Ducey’s administration had previously estimated that state funds would cost each bus trip about $80,000.

A spokeswoman for the Border Health Regional Center in Somerton, Arizona, did not immediately respond when asked for comment on how the contract is currently being handled.

Nicholls said the center will be reimbursed for travel expenses by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.