ARIZONA, USA — The mayor of the Arizona city, hit hard by a record border crossing, welcomes the Biden administration’s deployment of troops to its southwest border.

But Yuma Mayor Douglas Nichols said it was still not enough to deal with the looming crisis.

Here’s what we know about the deployment and its potential impact on Arizona.

Army and Marine Corps Resupply Corps

The Biden administration will send 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border starting next week ahead of an expected immigration surge following the May 11 end of pandemic-era restrictions under Title 42 rules. An estimated 2 million immigrants were automatically deported under the Title 42 rules.

White House spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that military personnel will perform data entry, warehouse support and other administrative tasks so that US Customs and Border Protection can focus on fieldwork.

The military “does not perform law enforcement functions or interact with immigrants or immigrants,” Jean-Pierre said. Become.”

They will be deployed for 90 days, drawn from the Army and Marine Corps, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will consider recruiting the National Guard or Reserves during that period. At the border he already has 2,500 National Guardsmen.

Mayor of Yuma “I will have it”

“At least I’m acknowledging that there’s a problem and I need to do something else, and I accept that,” Yuma Mayor Douglas Nichols said in an interview Tuesday.

“What we’ve been doing isn’t working, it can cost lives, it’s causing pain and hardship.”

“But we have more to do.”

A three-term mayor, Nichols has seen his community’s public and nonprofit resources maximized by tens of thousands of people across borders. Record number of illegal immigrants arrested Last year we crossed the southwestern border.

Hobbs is silent on border plans

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will be out for the rest of the week. She declined to answer a question on Monday about whether there were plans for the border community to help deal with the end of Title 42.

A Hobbes spokesman said next week there will be more to say about the border.

Over the past two years, more than 1,000 immigrants per day have crossed into CBP’s Yuma sector (nearly the western half of Arizona).

Heavy traffic passes through the “Morelos Gap,” an opening in the Trump-era border fence near a dam on the Colorado River next to lettuce fields south of Yuma.

The four gaps serve as gateways for people crossing borders from all over the world.

Cartels, which act as de facto travel agents for immigrants on social media, have exploited the area due to its proximity to Mexico’s nearby airports and usually crossing over dams.

DHS plans to close the gap by the end of this summer.

Former Republican Governor Doug Ducey expressed his dissatisfaction with the Biden administration. spend over $200 million During my last few weeks at the office, I filled in the gaps with empty shipping containers. They have since been removed.

“There’s a lot to figure out.”

Less than 24 hours after the deployment of the troops was announced, Nichols had no details about where the troops were deployed. This need extends the length of the southwestern border.

“There are still many unexplained things about the influence of the Army when it arrives,” he said.

Nichols said the military was desperately needed to pick up groups of hundreds of migrants who were “tucked” into a remote desert area near a border town east of Yuma.

“It’s a very rough road to get in and out of,” he said. “You can’t bring in a large bus, and it takes about two days to move that many people.”

What the SDF cannot do

But he said the soldiers’ marching orders did not allow them to detain the migrants.

This leaves the time-consuming task in the hands of the beleaguered border guards.

Under federal law, military forces at the border are prohibited from processing, arresting, or firing weapons on immigrants.

Nicholls emphasized the mission’s urgency as summer temperatures approached.

“Arizona is in the 100-degree range right now,” he said.

Past border deployments

The past three US presidents and the governor of Arizona have deployed troops to the border or, in the case of Governor Jan Brewer, encouraged the president to do so.

Biden’s predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, sent more than 5,000 active-duty soldiers to the border in October 2018. Democrats dismissed it as a political ploy.

In 2010, President Barack Obama sent 1,200 troops, 500 of them to Arizona. President George W. Bush stationed his 6,000 National Guard at the border from 2006 to his 2008, of which he had 2,400 stationed in Arizona.

Under Ducey, the Arizona National Guard was stationed at the border in a support role for four of his eight-year term.

About 550 Arizona State Guard personnel served at the border in roles such as administrative assistants, maintenance support, and camera operators, according to Capt. Erin C. Hannigan, director of communications for the Arizona State Guard. They did not serve as law enforcement agencies.

“We have been on a variety of missions since 2008, and we are not new to border activation, and we are ready to respond when called upon to serve our communities, state, and country,” Hannigan said. increase.

Cinema, Kelly responds

Two U.S. Senators from Arizona (independent Kirsten Cinema and Democrat Mark Kelly) are in close contact with Yuma County officials.

Cinema said the Biden administration must do more than deploy troops.

“For more than a year, we have urged the administration to plan for and act on an imminent immigration surge once Title 42 ends,” Cinema said in a prepared statement.

“Mobilizing active duty personnel to our southern border will alleviate some of the serious burdens Arizona border communities face every day. We must do more to keep immigrants safe and enact realistic and workable plans to ensure that migrants are treated fairly and humanely.”

“I am pleased to see the Biden administration sending this additional personnel,” Kerry said in a statement.

“Border Patrol agents are making a difficult job even harder with this border crisis. I look forward to being fully responsive, being briefed on the details of this mission, and working with Arizona Border leaders, Border Patrol and Administration to ensure an orderly and safe environment without strain on the border community. We will ensure a humane response to the situation,” he said.

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