Feb. 9 (UPI) -- City officials in Arizona are demanding the federal government remove new razor wire along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The razor wire extends from the border fence to the ground as U.S. Army soldiers have added new rows of concertina wire along the border in Nogales, Ariz.
"Currently there are no plans to remove the concertina wire," U.S Customs and Border Protection representatives said Wednesday afternoon at a meeting with a delegation of city leaders, the Nogales International report reported. Nogales city officials, including mayor Arturo Garino, walked out of the meeting.
Later Wednesday, Garino said a lawsuit could be used as a last-resort option to remove the wiring. City council members also passed a resolution demanding the federal government remove the razor wire.
The resolution calls the wire "lethal" and says it is "in the immediate proximity of our residents, children, pets, law enforcement and first responders."
Six rows of razor wire on the border fence in Nogales are in the path of where children walk and play, resident Victor Fuentes, told elected officials at the city council meeting, Arizona Public Media reported.
"This is not right," Garino said. "We can't allow this to happen -- we are going to go for a lawsuit."
Garino followed up by asking the city attorney to plan for legal action.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that "several precautionary measures have been put in place," which include fencing and signs in English and Spanish, while noting that the fencing is on federal property outside of city land.