A Small Arizona Town Wants Feds to Remove Razor Wire from the Border Wall That Runs Through It

An Arizona town is condemning the federal government’s use of razor wire on the border wall running through its downtown area as an “indiscriminate use of lethal force.”

The Nogales City Council passed the measure unanimously Wednesday night, and included a threat that it will sue the federal government if it doesn’t remove the wire, CNN affiliate KOLD reported. Nogales is a town of about 20,000 about an hour’s drive from Tucson.

The city’s resolution comes as the Pentagon announced this week it is sending 3,750 additional US forces to the southwest border to support Customs and Border Protection. As part of that deployment, troops are placing 150 miles of concertina wire between ports of entry.

In a video recorded in front of the wire before the meeting, Nogales Mayor Arturo Garino said, “I can’t really imagine why this is necessary, especially in a downtown area where we’re trying to build a business-friendly community, so close to an area where we’ve had economic problems in the past. This right here is not safe, for anybody walking through here. This wire is at ground level. It’s not only at the top, but it’s ground level.”

Garino said the city has had a wall for 20 to 30 years. The 14-foot barrier separates the Mexican and American towns, both named Nogales.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted photographs of the new layers of Concertina Wire that were added to existing barrier infrastructure along the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales, AZ.

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The Nogales mayor says the wire is dangerous.

During the council meeting, Garino said his biggest concern is tourism and safety, KOLD reported. “I fear the day that our first responders have to go to the wire because somebody fell in there and they need to extricate that person from there.”

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