Unicorn RiotDec 16, 2022

NEW➡️ A Quiet Retreat: Hundreds of Shipping Containers Hauled to AZ State Prison as Protests Halt Border Wall 📰 Starting Tuesday, along I-10 in Southern Arizona, dozens, maybe even hundreds, of empty shipping containers were hauled one-by-one westbound down the highway toward the Arizona State Prison Complex in the southern reaches of Tucson.

Full Story: https://unicornriot.ninja/2022/a-quiet-retreat-hundreds-of-shipping-containers-hauled-to-az-state-prison-as-protests-halt-border-wall/

A Quiet Retreat: Hundreds of Shipping Containers Hauled to AZ State Prison as Protests Halt Border Wall - UNICORN RIOT

Southern Arizona – Starting Tuesday, along I-10 in Southern Arizona, observant commuters may have noticed a peculiar uptick in the interstate’s westbound traffic — dozens, maybe even hundreds, of empty shipping containers were hauled one-by-one down the highway. From unincorporated land in Cochise County to the Arizona State Prison Complex in the southern reaches of […]

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This curious cavalcade marked what may be the next phase of the monthslong saga that has resulted in the destruction of miles of Southern Arizona wilderness and has cost the State of Arizona over $108 million dollars for what amounts to four miles of discarded scrap metal.

Since the project began in late October, workers have feverishly placed hundreds of shipping containers along the Arizona/Sonora border in Southern Cochise County.

Dec 16, 2022 at 12:36amWeb
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Workers have been staging the containers on an 88-acre plot of land in an unincorporated area of Cochise County, halfway between Whetstone and Huachuca City off Arizona State Highway 90. Photo by David Taylor.

Although Governor Doug Ducey’s office did not respond to a request for comment about the site, the aggregation of hundreds of shipping containers at this location in the midst of the massive operation along the border strongly suggests that the site is linked to the project.

Show threadUnicorn RiotDec 16, 2022

In an official response to the DOJ’s notice of intent to file legal action submitted on Dec. 12, Governor Ducey’s office announced on Dec. 13 that “construction” of the shipping container barrier “has ceased.”

The letter appears to correspond with the mass exodus of shipping containers from the storage site. Governor Ducey’s office even asserted a willingness to remove the container wall, but only on the condition that the federal government construct a permanent wall in its place.

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Drone footage shows an estimated 900 shipping containers double and single stacked, waiting to be added to the parade of surplus from global trade that Arizona Governor Doug Ducey was trying to leave behind as his legacy before his term ends in January. Photo by David Taylor.
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According to the State of Arizona’s contract with AshBritt, the private disaster management company awarded the contract for the project, each twenty foot shipping container cost Arizona taxpayers $5,700. Meaning the staged containers carry a price tag of more than $5.1 million.

With the U.S. government unwilling or powerless to take any direct action on the ground to stop the destruction, halting the onslaught has become an urgent necessity for dozens of activists and locals.

Show threadUnicorn RiotDec 16, 2022
Beginning November 29, when protestors started blockading the project’s advance, work slowed and, by December 6, halted altogether. https://unicornriot.ninja/2022/blockaders-halt-border-wall-construction-in-southern-arizona/
​​Blockaders Halt Border Wall Construction in Southern Arizona - UNICORN RIOT

Cochise County, AZ – Seventeen feet above the ground, towering over the native Sonoran grasses and oak saplings of the surrounding bajadas, a group of young people stretched out languidly in the sun, chatting and laughing and playing guitar. In a line to their east, the double-stacked shipping containers beneath them stretched out for over […]

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It is unclear whether the containers will be stored indefinitely at the prison or whether they will be used by the prison. Neither Governor Ducey’s office nor the Arizona Department of Corrections responded to requests for comment.
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While those in power continue to argue with each other through the courts, a small group of dedicated activists and members of the local community continue to put their bodies in the path of the machines.

“‘We the People’ will continue our presence at the border until the federal government stops the destruction and removes the containers,” some blockaders wrote in a press release Wednesday.

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“We speak for the land that has been callously unearthed, the trees that have been uprooted and mowed down. For if we don’t, who will?” - Blockaders of the shipping container wall

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Show threadWilliam SimpsonDec 16, 2022
@UnicornRiot Hauling shipping containers to remote wilderness areas and creating eyesores seems to be a rightwing / tweaker thing. Ducey apparently knows his base.
Show threadKevin Karhan Dec 16, 2022
@UnicornRiot They'll have some serious profit margins, cuz I can get a ready-to-use housing container delivered to any location in Germany for that amount in €, and I'm talking about a single container, not having any room to save with scalability...
Show threadAnathemaJaneDec 16, 2022
@UnicornRiot why?
Show threadCloppstDec 16, 2022
@UnicornRiot What an absolute waste of money.
Show thread"Extinct" OncelerDec 16, 2022
@UnicornRiot Are they free for the taking? Because yeah, great for housing.