Migrants overwhelming resources in Arizona, congressman says
Ciscomani urges Biden administration to address border 'crisis' as encounters near 10,000 a day
A group of men detained by U.S. Border Patrol after crossing the border wall in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, are processed at a makeshift intake center, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument near Lukeville, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – An Arizona congressman is demanding answers from the Biden administration as illegal border crossings in the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol continue to grow.
“Our U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officers are overwhelmed, and our border communities are overrun. For months now, the quantity of migrants crossing the border has steadily increased to record breaking numbers,” said U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona, in a letter addressed Wednesday to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “We have now seen days with more than 10,000 migrants encountered. Today, there have been over 200 migrants released onto the streets of southeastern Arizona border communities in the Tucson Sector alone.”
The Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol includes most of Eastern Arizona. The sector borders areas in Sonora, Mexico, which local law enforcement officials have told Border Report are cartel-controlled.
National news reports citing confidential U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources echo Ciscomani’s assertions about the rising migrant encounters at the Southwest border. Fox News said encounters are up to 9,100 a day and that up to 5,000 migrants in processing centers have been released with a paper promising they will show up in court.
Ciscomani is telling Mayorkas that not just processing centers but also shelters in Arizona are at full capacity, so migrants reportedly are being bused to rural communities in Cochise County for processing and inevitable release.
“These areas are not equipped to deal with this influx. Our local border communities should not be forced to bear the burden of this administration’s failed border policies,” Ciscomani wrote in his letter. “I strongly urge you to address the border crisis by securing our southern border, enforcing our nation’s existing laws, and using the tools available to you including by reinstating third-country asylum cooperative agreements and the Migrant Protection Protocols.”
MPP, also known as Remain in Mexico, was a Trump administration policy to make asylum seekers wait for their day in court in Mexico, instead of releasing them in American communities. President Biden did away with the policy despite court challenges and Republican Party opposition.