An Arizona lawmaker has called for the National Guard to be deployed to help deal with the spiraling migrant crisis.
Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani’s desperate please comes as the Tucson Border Sector grapples with a significant increase in crossings from Mexico.
That same day, CBP reported more than 9,400 migrant encounters in a span of 24 hours – 7,700 of whom were apprehended by Border Patrol agents.
Ciscomani – a 41-year-old conservative who was born in Mexico – called on Alejandro Mayorkas to ‘immediately request the DoD deploy the Arizona National Guard to help with this dire situation.’
On Friday, during an interview with Fox News, Ciscomani cited the current state of the Tucson Sector compared to other communities in Texas and New York.
Arizona lawmaker Juan Ciscomani – seen here on Fox News Friday – has demanded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deploy his state’s National Guard to provide support to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the border.
The request, aired by Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani Thursday, comes as the Tucson Border Sector grapples with a significant increase in migrant traffic following the rollback of Trump-era guidances like Title 42
‘Tucson Sector is leading in encounters and our agents and officers are overrun and undermanned,’ Ciscomani writes in the initial request, penned hours before senators issued a statement revealing another popular port of entry would close amid the influx of arrivals.
‘The situation is far past a breaking point and those on the frontlines of this crisis are in need of immediate support,’ he added, citing the 3,000 encounters seen at the Tuscon Center on Thursday.
Demanding immediate federal intervention, the rep stated: ‘We must be doing all we can to help our local communities, law enforcement officers, and CBP agents and officers.
‘No one knows the gravity of this situation better than our local officials,’ he went on, as the Lukeville Port of Entry 150 miles west was similarly overrun.
He told Mayorkas, who assumed to top spot at Homeland Security in 2021: ‘As you consider this request, I urge you to work with Governor Katie Hobbs, as well as Arizona county supervisors, mayors and sheriffs.
‘I look forward to your timely response.’
More than three days later, the demand has gone unanswered, but within hours, paved the way for a closure of the port of entry in Lukeville – one of several choke points migrants flood in from before being brought to centers like the one in Tuscon.
There, the mostly Central American travelers are processed – before being funneled across the country to sanctuary cities as far as New York and as close as Texas, with some traveling from farflung countries like Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania and Liberia.
On Thursday, Lukeville – flanked by the Nogales ports of entry roughly 200 miles east and the San Luis Port of Entry some 130 miles west – found itself with roughly 700 migrants lined up near its border wall waiting to be picked up an relocated on taxpayers’ dime.
A stretch of border seen near the Tuscon Sector Border Patrol HQ is seen here. Last week along, Tucson Sector Border Patrol encountered nearly 15,700 migrants.
On Thursday, Lukeville – flanked by the Nogales ports of entry roughly 200 miles east and the San Luis Port of Entry some 130 miles west – found itself with roughly 700 migrants lined up near its border wall waiting to be picked up an relocated on taxpayers’ dime
For the past four months, the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector – which covers most of the State of Arizona from the New Mexico State line to the Yuma County line – has become the busiest corridor for migrant encounters
. The traffic is somewhat uncharacteristic for a passage that typically sees less traffic than other sectors like the Rio Grande Valley, and shows the constantly evolving state of the country’s continued border crisis as Biden tries to deflect to Congress
Seeing this, CBP officials – citing ‘increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border’ – issued a written statement announcing that the entry at Lukeville will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
That maneuver was quickly slammed by senators Kelly and Sinema and Democrat Governor Hobbs, who called the decision in their own statement issued hours later ‘unacceptable.
‘This is an unacceptable outcome that further destabilizes our border, risk the safety of our communities, and damages our economy by disrupting trade and tourism.’
The trio proceeded to call on the Biden Administration to ‘act swiftly to maintain port of entry operations [and] get the border under control.
Citing how the government is tasked with keeping its citizens, including those in Arizona, safe, the progressives added: ‘Enough is enough – Arizona deserves real solutions to our border crisis.
‘The Administration must send immediate resources to secure the border and help our communities.’
The spike comes months after Joe Biden, 81, controversially rescinded the Trump-era Title 42 order, which allowed border agents to more freely send migrants back across the border.
In the letter, Ciscomani – a 41-year-old conservative who was born in Mexico – called on US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to ‘immediately request that the DoD deploy the Arizona National Guard to help with this dire situation’
the letter saw the lawmaker put the blame on Arizona’s current state on the Biden Administration,’ as well has Homeland Security head Alejandro Mayorkas (at left) ‘who continues to play a deaf ear to what’s happening’
Migration numbers in states like Texas have increased drastically as a result, with Arizona – the state with the second-most land along the Southern Border – serving as a sort of lesser known casualty.
According to federal data released earlier in the year – when monthly border crossings reached a record 218,763 encounters – an average of 1,000 people have been sent back across the border each month since Title 42 ended, compared with 3,000 the month before.
The spike, seen in September, came after a summer that saw 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border in August, up 37 percent from July but little changed from August 2022.
Numbers have dipped slightly since October, which historically has been the case regardless of the year – though the surge being seen in Arizona is somewhat new.
For the past four months, the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector – which covers most of the State of Arizona from the New Mexico State line to the Yuma County line – has become the busiest corridor for migrant encounters.
In response, officers previously stationed at the Lukeville port will now be used to help Border Patrol with processing, as the agency announced it would suspend vehicle processing operations at the Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 in Eagle Pass.
The traffic is somewhat uncharacteristic for a passage that typically sees less traffic than other sectors like the Rio Grande Valley, and shows the constantly evolving state of the country’s continued border crisis as Biden tries to deflect to Congress.
As migrants on the Mexico-side of the border continue to attempt to cut through the bollards in Lukeville with power saws – an occurrence agents say now happens ‘regularly’ – the current administration wants state reps to pass laws that would provide more funding for the border processes.
House Republicans, in turn, have rejected such legislation, blaming the continued arrivals on Biden and his repeal of Trump-are guidances.
As this happened, the CBP has been surging resources and personnel to the Tucson Sector, which has been focusing on transporting migrants laterally to other parts of the border to deal with the surge.
That strategy, combined with an increase use of expedited removal as an alternative to them being simply released elsewhere in the US, has far failed to quell the Arizona arrivals, which last week, in Tuscon alone, stood at nearly 15,700.
Ciscomani’s request, as of Sunday, has yet to be heard. The situation, meanwhile, continues to worsen, with footage showing overrun processing facilities this past Wednesday elsewhere in Arizona
Seeing this, CBP officials – citing ‘increased levels of migrant encounters’ – issued a statement Friday announcing that the entry at Lukeville more than a mile away (seen here last week) will remain closed for the foreseeable future, with agents stationed there relocated to Tuscon
‘As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry, the migration trends shift as well,’ CBP officials said in their statement announcing Lukeville’s closure to better bolster the center at Tuscon.
‘We continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes such as CBP One and those without a legal basis to remain in the United States.’
The ‘all hands on deck’ approach is set to officially commence on Monday, but Ciscomani over the weekend told Fox that he believes the situation only puts a band-aid on the very serious crisis.
Citing the state of sanctuary cities like New York and Chicago, he told the station: ‘What you’re seeing with the border crisis is every sanctuary state has become a border state – and now we’re seeing it in New York as well.
Pointing to footage played by his interviewers that showed Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez being booed for her stance on the situation, he called the negative reaction ‘a reflection of that.’
‘That’s what we’ve been saying for months now – now even months, years.’
He then pivoted to how Arizona is now suffering the consequences of the massive influx of migrants – while also citing how his state gets much less federal funding from also overrun New York.
‘If New York is feeling that pressure, imagine what Arizona feels.’
He declared: ‘This is a reflection of the failed policies of the left.
‘People voted for these sanctuary cities, and they are facing the consequences of that.
‘But the blame,’ he continued, ‘is on the Biden Administration,’ and Alejandro Mayorkas who continues to play a deaf ear to what’s happening, even in states like New York.
‘New York has been getting tens of millions of dollars more than Arizona, and they are still in bad shape. My job is to advocate for Arizona.’
He sniped in his letter: ‘The situation is far past a breaking point and those on the frontlines of this crisis are in need of immediate support.’
In a statement, he similarly told Fox: ‘The Biden Administration must take action to fix this crisis of their own creation and the best way to start is by providing CBP with the support they deserve.
‘By immediately deploying the National Guard in Arizona, we provide the men and women charged with securing our border the much-needed reinforcement to do their jobs.’
Ciscomani’s request, as of Sunday, has yet to be heard. The situation, meanwhile, continues to worsen.