Yuma County's sheriff said in Phoenix last week that border wall in the Yuma area should be completed as soon as possible.
Yuma County Sheriff Leon Willmott told state lawmakers during a special joint session that only about 11 miles of Yuma County remain without border barriers. Sheriff Willmott said his department responds to distress calls from migrants in the rugged desert border area.
Arizona Congressman Tim Dunn invited Wilmot to address members of Congress at the state Capitol. Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels also spoke at the session.
Gov. Katie Hobbs' budget proposal released earlier this month sets aside more state funding for projects along the border. KJZZ reports there is a $15 million fentanyl interdiction program called SAFE. Another initiative, called SECURE, will donate $1 million to the Department of Homeland Security to address border issues.
“We were able to leverage the funding you gave us for helicopters, where we didn't have any air assets,” Mr Wilmot told MPs. “Yuma County relied on the Marine Corps for search and rescue operations for many years, but the Marine Corps shut it down.”
Wilmott said the department used state funding from the former Border Strike Force for its efforts. He said he would like to see additional funding dedicated to monitoring cross-border money laundering and other financial crimes.
He said deputies are monitoring 10 known caches and smuggling sites in their jurisdiction. The cartel's recent tactics he mentioned included using T-shirt guns to shoot drugs over the border fence.
Wilmot's main message was that asylum abuses are rampant and cross-border cartel violence continues as Coyotes persuade migrants to leave behind their home country IDs and passports. .
Wilmot did not give the latest number of immigrants apprehended in Yuma County, nor did he mention the checkpoint near Telegraph Pass, which remains closed after a man crashed in late October. . Officials said there did not appear to be anything suspicious about the crash.
In an interview with members of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee released on December 20, the Yuma division chief said: Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle said drug prohibitions, particularly fentanyl, cocaine and heroin, have been strengthened.
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KJZZ's Alisa Reznick contributed to this report.
