By Corinne Murdock |
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs said she would remove the shipping containers closing up the border wall gaps if elected. Governor Doug Ducey closed the border gaps using shipping containers topped with razor wire in August; he refused the Biden administration’s demand last month that he remove them.
In an interview with KYMA, Hobbs called Ducey’s shipping containers nothing more than a “political stunt.” She insinuated that Ducey’s motive wasn’t so much to secure the border wall as to instigate a legal fight with the Biden administration. Hobbs indicated that the Biden administration had the border situation under control.
“We need to work with the federal government to implement solutions that are right for Arizonans,” said Hobbs.
The shipping containers took 11 days and about $6 million to install. For well over a year in office, the Biden administration refused to add to the border wall. They spent an estimated $3 million every day to not complete the border wall under contracts set by former President Donald Trump, or around $2 billion in total.
Yet, Hobbs claimed in an NBC interview a little over a week ago that Arizonans were “tired of inaction at the border.” Hobbs implied that she would largely pass the border crisis buck onto the federal government.
“[T]his is largely a federal issue,” said Hobbs.
Unlike Hobbs, Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told KYMA that she would ignore the Biden administration’s request to remove the shipping containers.
Lake’s campaign later remarked that Hobbs wanted no border wall at all.
Hobbs’ endorsements from law enforcement included a prominent sheriff who denied the existence of the border crisis. Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway rejected Arizona National Guard assistance for his people last April. Hobbs said that Hathaway’s support as a border sheriff reflected her border policy.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
