More Wire Was Put on City's Border Wall. It Wants It Gone

A border wall stretching between downtown Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Mexico, now has even more barbed wire—and the city council for the US side is demanding the government take the wire down within city limits, threatening legal action if it doesn't do so, per the AP. The concertina wire, more of which was reportedly installed last weekend, is the type "only found in a war, prison, or battle setting" and is "not only irresponsible but inhuman," per a council resolution passed Wednesday. It added the wire could seriously hurt or kill someone. Mayor Arturo Garino says that those who live near the two-story wall could be at peril, especially local kids. The AP notes the downtown area is residential in parts, and some homes are just a few feet from the wall.

"That wire is lethal, and I really don't know what they're thinking by putting it all the way down to the ground," he said earlier this week, per the AP. Garino says he has also asked US Sen. Martha McSally to intervene on the city's behalf. In a statement to the AP, US Customs and Border Protection says the newly installed wire in Nogales was added after a request "for additional support in high-risk urban areas commonly exploited by criminal smuggling organizations," though it didn't elaborate on who'd asked for it to be put up. The agency adds that warning signs in both English and Spanish have been erected, and that in areas where there's a lot of foot traffic, the wire wasn't put on the wall's lower portion. CBP said in November that it had received 36 miles of the wire for use in Arizona, Texas, and California border towns. (More border wall stories.)