YUMA, Ariz. — In May 2023, as Title 42 was coming to an end, ABC15’s Nick Ciretti spoke with Yuma Mayor Doug Nichols to learn more about the state of immigration from his perspective and what the city needs. We talked about what they are doing and what they need. Complete. We recently decided to follow up with him to get his opinion.

“It needs to be done and it needs to be done now.”

Yuma Mayor Doug Nichols told ABC15 near the end of Title 42 that he wants the Biden administration to declare a national emergency, activate the National Guard and deploy FEMA resources to the southern border. mentioned, but it never came to fruition.

That week, Mayor Nichols said the federal government’s response to what was happening at the border was “woefully inadequate,” but now that arrests across the southern border have plummeted, we follow up and say the mayor I wanted to know what you thought about this incident. situation.

“A lot of things haven’t changed,” Mayor Nichols explains. “The president issued an executive order that certainly had a positive impact. But it doesn’t solve the problem. I don’t think anyone would say an executive order solves the problem, but it did have a positive impact.”

Mayor Nichols also believes changes in cartel activity south of the border may also be impacting the number of people entering the country, and said other branches of the U.S. Border Patrol remain very active. Ta.

President Joe Biden issued several executive orders in June that limit the number of people who can apply for asylum in the country illegally. The White House claims the plan is working.

Apprehensions at the southern border have declined overall, dropping to their lowest level in nearly four years in July, President’s first full month, according to the latest data from Customs and Border Protection. Biden’s presidential actions.

But Mayor Nichols believes the White House waited too long.

“I think everyone shares responsibility, but everyone has their role. It’s a law that we’ve had on the books for the last 20 to 30 years. You can’t issue an executive order within the same law. It took this administrator three and a half years to get there, and that’s not enough.”

And what about the bipartisan border security agreement that the White House supported? It lacked sufficient Republican support and was rejected twice in the Senate. Some Republicans said it didn’t go far enough. The White House accused Republicans of prioritizing partisan politics over national security.

Mayor Nichols said he was “disappointed” after the border deal failed and wished Congress had discussed the topic more. “Even if it wasn’t approved, it would have moved the national conversation forward…To me, it required more effort, but it was generally moving in the right direction.”

And what about former President Donald Trump’s influence on this bill? He reportedly told Senate Republicans to vote against the bill to keep immigration at the top of his campaign, but former President Trump said he was simply trying to make a political move. He denies opposing the bill solely for profit.

Mayor Nichols said he thinks this is an example of how both Republicans and Democrats often conduct politics at the federal level.

“I watched it all happen. I think this is politics. Why did he do that?” [Biden] Will it take three and a half years to issue an executive order that has some level of effect? That’s also politics. This is part of a political game that goes back and forth… after all, it’s pretty frustrating that we are part of the pawns. As mayors, we want to be a little more realistic and want to see progress.

Mayor Nichols said he will vote for former President Trump in November, but said whoever wins the White House needs to start preparing now for changes in immigration and a possible surge at the border.

ABC15 has reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for a response. They noted how other mayors in Yuma County have supported Harris, including Somerton Mayor Jerry Anaya and San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel.

San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel, who is also the border mayor, sent the following statement on behalf of the Harris campaign:

“Donald Trump and J.D. Vance scrapped the strongest border security deal in decades, supported by Border Patrol unions, because they thought it would be politically useful.Vice President Harris is the only candidate who will secure the border by keeping border crossings closed and reinstating the border security bill that the Biden-Harris administration has been pushing into law.”