US Senators from Arizona are now calling on President Biden to send the National Guard to Lukeville. No, it’s not zombies; the area has just been experiencing an overwhelming surge of immigrants.
Residents near the border who cross from the US to Mexico regularly are the latest victims of the immigrant crisis. The Tucson area, which Lukeville is part of, has witnessed up to 17,500 encounters in a week. It is the highest weekly total in the records.
More migrants have been illegally slipping into the nation. And federal agents at the port of entry have been sent to help understaffed Border Patrol officers handle the surge.
The closing of the port of entry will cost businesses in Arizona thousands of dollars a day. And legal crossers now have to figure out how they will commute to either the US or Mexican side.
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US Senators from the Grand Canyon have called on President Biden to send National Guard troops to re-open the port of entry. “For far too long, Arizona communities have paid the price for Washington’s failures on the border,” Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly said in a joint statement.
They called the decision an unacceptable outcome that destabilizes the border. It also risks the safety of communities while damaging the economy.
“Our ports of entry are key drivers of economic growth and security in our state, and it is critical that they be properly staffed and resourced,” the statement continued.
One of those the closure will hurt is Stephanie Fierro, 26, who lives in Arizona. Her Mexican husband lives south of the border and can’t cross into the US because of the shutdown.
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“We come and go every day,” the eight-month pregnant mom says. She hopes the port of entry opens so she can see her husband before the arrival of their second child.
Governor Katie Hobbs has also asked President Biden to redirect about 200 National Guard members from Tucson to Lukeville. She also asks that the federal government refund $512 million, exactly how much the state has spent on the migrant issues.
It is so overwhelming Border Patrol agents in the remote desert hot spot started using charter flights to transfer some migrants to places like El Paso, Texas, to process the border crossers.
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Furthermore, federal air marshals, who usually guard commercial flights, and Federal Protective Service officers, who protect US government buildings, now assist at the border.
Lukeville became a popular migration spot for immigrants over the summer when the authorities opened the gates. This was infuriating for the agents who watched helplessly as masses of migrants confidently entered America.
Over 50,000 migrants illegally crossed into the country via the Tucson area in October. Even now, the region remains the busiest for migrant encounters.
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