Biden administration officials leveled claims against Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey earlier this month, accusing his cabinet of trespassing on the federal government with their border wall project.
Jacklynn Gould, the Bureau of Reclamation's lower Colorado basin region director, alleged in a letter that the Republican governor violated federal lands by placing shipping containers along gaps in the Arizona-Mexico border, CBS' WBTV 3 reported.
"The unauthorized placement of those containers constitutes a violation of federal law and is a trespass against the United States," Gould stated. "That trespass is harming federal lands and resources and [is] impeding Reclamation's ability to perform its mission."
However, the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs defended Ducey's decision in an Oct. 18 letter, writing that "the containers will remain in place until specific details regarding construction are provided."
It comes after the Cocopah Indian Tribe in southwestern Arizona complained last month of Ducey's plan, which seeks to cover a 10-mile section of the border using more than 2,700 60-foot-long containers.
"We believe the Bureau is taking the necessary and appropriate action to resolve this issue," the Cocopah tribe said on Oct. 17. "Beyond that, we will continue working side-by-side with local, state, and federal law enforcement on securing the border."
Douglas Nicholls, the Republican mayor of Yuma, told Fox News that the Biden administration's immigration law neglect has led to states needing to step up to protect their residents.
"They say this is federal land, and it is, but it would be trespassing supposedly to put these containers on there. Well, my contention is that 300,000 people that have come through this year alone, they've been trespassing, and I don't remember seeing a letter going out to anybody to try to stop any of that," Nicholls laid out.
Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, have made waves in recent months for their immigration policies, notably the busing of illegal immigrants to Northern cities.