U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that construction on a barrier at the Yuma sector of the southern border would start next week.
A press release on Jan. 6 explained that the federal government would “close gaps” near the Morelos Dam, a primary location for illegal crossings in Arizona.
“The safety and security or our workforce, law enforcement partners, and the local community are a top priority,” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel said in the statement.
“Yuma Sector is dedicated to working with our state, local, and tribal counterparts to ensure a multi layered approach to secure our nation’s borders and protect our local community,” she continued.
Plans for the project had been public since last year and said that it would be finished in the summer.
The former Ducey administration placed storage containers at the gaps as a mitigation strategy, which led to a lawsuit and its subsequent removal in recent days. The Center Square reported on the stipulation filed in court that assured that the federal government would go forward with the project as part of an agreement to take the containers down.
As of the fiscal year 2023 so far, the Yuma sector has had nearly 50,000 migrant encounters, according to CBP data.
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