NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway hit the dirt on his car tires as he ventured off-road just a few miles east of downtown Nogales.

He goes several times a week at the Arizona-Mexico border to check for immigrants entering Arizona illegally.

He passed through former President Trump’s border wall, but that wall isn’t finished building, so part of the border has barriers that were built before Trump took office.

However, some parts of the border have no iron barriers at all, and some bars here and far away.

“It’s always quiet when I come here. You can’t see anything, but I ran into them on the road at night,” Hathaway said of encounters with immigrants crossing illegally.

Hathaway said Santa Cruz County didn’t have a big problem with illegal immigration, but said there was a spike in illegal immigration when Title 42 was introduced.

“So yes more people were going between legal ports of entry because normal immigration procedures were not allowed to work,” he said.

Immigrant encounters in Tucson have already surged by more than 19% in the first six months of fiscal year 2023 compared to the first six months of fiscal year 2022, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They state that nearly half of those expulsions are due to Title 42.

However, he said he doesn’t expect immigration to surge in Santa Cruz County even if Title 42 ends in a few days.

“If there’s any merit coming in, people will flood in right now,” Hathaway said.

The ending of Title 42 is also on the mind of Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado. He said his biggest concern was the affected crossing at the port of entry in Mariposa.

“Our borders won’t shorten our hours, our borders won’t be closed,” he said of his concerns.

However, we do not expect a significant increase in illegal immigration at ports of entry.

“If they cross the crosswalk, they will be turned back and punished,” he said.

As for migrants coming through the barrier-free border gap, border agents told him they expected more migrants to get through, he said.

“There will be hundreds again, but more than usual,” he said.

He has already met with Border Patrol, local, county and state leaders in Arizona, and Mexican leaders to manage immigration borders in preparation for the end of Title 42.

“Make sure we all communicate about what’s going on and how we’re dealing with it,” he said of their meeting.