Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) will travel down to the state’s border with Mexico this weekend to visit the Lukeville area, where more than 17,500 immigrants have illegally walked across the border in a week.
Hobbs told reporters on Friday that she will visit the southern border with the state’s top National Guard official as she navigates any state action to respond to the mounting situation in southeastern Arizona.
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The Lukeville Port of Entry was closed at the federal government’s order on Monday and has forced all American and Mexican residents to drive several hours to the next closest port of entry in Nogales, where lines up to five hours await travelers, according to Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ).
Illegal immigration through the Tucson region of Arizona began to rise six months ago and has ticked up in recent weeks from 12,000 arrests per week to 17,500 arrests in the week that ended on Nov. 30. Data for the past week will be released later Friday.
Ciscomani sent Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas a letter late last week in which he asked for the Arizona National Guard to be deployed to the border to support federal law enforcement.
“[The] Tucson Sector is leading in encounters and our agents and officers are overrun and undermanned,” Ciscomani wrote in the letter. “The situation is far past a breaking point and those on the frontlines of this crisis are in need of immediate support.”
Meanwhile, Hobbs has called on the Biden administration to take more actions as thousands continue to cross daily, according to reporters who spoke with her Friday.
Arizona @GovernorHobbs says she will go to the border tomorrow with state’s top Guard official. She reaffirms no concrete state action because of Lukeville port closure but continues calling on Biden admin to do more. And… pic.twitter.com/r7N2zADnf4
— Stacey Barchenger (@sbarchenger) December 8, 2023
“We’re certainly talking to the federal government about perhaps sending them under federal orders, which gives them more broad authority to act and provide support to the border patrol,” Hobbs told reporters.
The border trip on Saturday will help Hobbs “see if there’s perhaps a mission for the guard.”
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Hobbs, a Democrat, joined Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) to denounce the Biden administration’s decision to shutter the Lukeville Port of Entry and urged Washington to reverse course.
“This is an unacceptable outcome that further destabilizes our border, risks the safety of our communities, and damages our economy by disrupting trade and tourism,” Hobbs, Kelly, and Sinema said in a joint statement. “The Federal Government must act swiftly to maintain port of entry operations, get the border under control, keep Arizona communities safe, and ensure the humane treatment of migrants.”
