'IT WAS WORKING': Arizona border residents blast decision to remove container wall

Farmers watched in confusion Wednesday as crews removed the stacks of shipping containers filling gaps in the unfinished border wall between Arizona and Mexico.

"It was working," Pasquinelli Produce Company President Alex Muller told Fox News. "It wasn't bothering the farmers. It wasn't bothering anybody that lives on the border because it doesn't affect them. And they're gone. In one day."

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Then-Gov. Doug Ducey ordered construction of the container wall over the summer to plug gaps in the unfinished border wall. The work was about a third complete last month when the state agreed to remove the containers under pressure from the Biden administration and protesters concerned about environmental impacts.

"There was nothing impacting the environment in any way," Muller said. "That’s ridiculous."

WATCH: CREWS REMOVE SHIPPING CONTAINER WALL FROM ARIZONA BORDER:

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Hank Auza, a fifth-generation farmer, has multiple fields by the Morelos Dam, where the containers were removed Wednesday. He said the containers eased the strain on Border Patrol. 

"It helped funnel the people to a certain location to where then the Border Patrol could manage them easier," Auza said.

Migrant crossings in the Yuma sector increased 171% between 2021 and 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection. About 1 million migrants have crossed Arizona's southern border during the Biden presidency.

"This administration, to me, it seems like they want this to happen," Auza said. "And for what reason? I do not know."

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The Department of Homeland Security announced last month it had authorized the closure of small gaps in the border wall.

"If they do that, then it'll all be worth getting rid of" the shipping containers, Auza said.

To hear more of the farmers' thoughts, click here.