YUMA, Ariz. — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) attended the 2nd hearing of the Commission on the Southern Border Crisis in Yuma on Feb. 23, with no Democrats present. He said he wasn’t surprised he didn’t.
Jordan told the Epoch Times, “Maybe it’s best to stay away when something this bad happens.”
“It’s their job to serve the American people. Be honest with We The People and those you’re supposed to serve. They don’t seem to do that. Too bad.”
The commission charged a fee for a two-hour public hearing, “The Biden Border Crisis: Part II,” at Yuma City Hall.
Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, 15 Republicans and about 200 people have listened as a panel of experts described the human and economic toll of the crisis.
The panel included Yuma County Superintendent Jonathan Lines, Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, and Dr. Robert Trenchel, President and CEO of Yuma Regional Medical Center, a 406-bed acute care hospital. rice field.
The expert’s conclusion was a record of failure on the part of the Biden administration in refusing to address the border crisis.
Under President Donald Trump, the commission heard that illegal immigration in Yuma County is controlled at over 9,000 a year. By 2022, that number has skyrocketed, with over 300,000 illegal immigrants he encountered at the southern Arizona border.
“I’ve always said this border situation was intentional,” Jordan told the Epoch Times.
“If there is even a little bit of common sense and logic, that is the only conclusion. [The administration] I just did it on purpose from day one. The only way you have to fix it is by having to fight it. ”
Yuma Regional Medical Center is the closest medical facility south of Phoenix and east of San Diego, Trenshell said.
In the past year alone, hospitals have seen a “significant increase” in illegal immigrants seeking medical attention, arriving in “large waves” by taxi, law enforcement or walk-in.
“Some migrants come in with mild illnesses, but there are also migrants with serious illnesses. Many are very ill,” Trenschel said.
Some have been in intensive care for more than 60 days because of their illness. The largest cohort of illegal immigrants are pregnant women with “little or no antenatal care.”
Because of this, many babies need 30 days of newborn care, Trenschel said.
He said Yuma residents had to be flown to Phoenix, 170 miles away, when their babies were born.
Speaking to the committee, Rep. Matt Gates (R-Florida) denounced the hypocrisy of Democrats regarding the humanitarian response to the border crisis.
“For all the people on the left who want to persuade us that having open borders is humane, it is not humane to send a parent on a 170-mile journey when they need childcare services.”
Trenchill told the commission that immigrants often need three times as many manpower to solve their medical problems before they are discharged from the hospital. The hospital also pays for emergency medical flights and other transportation costs.
He said the demand for resources is so great that hospitals have racked up $26 million in uncompensated costs related to the illegal immigration crisis over the past year.
“I assure you, this number is not an estimate,” Trenschel told members of the Judiciary Committee. “Twenty-six million dollars of unpaid care is not a sustainable business model. is unsustainable.”
“Immigrant patients receive free care that they cannot pay for. We do not know their final destination. We know nothing about them. The situation is not fair.”
$26 million equals 212 bedside nurses and 300,000 illegal border crossings equals three times the population of Yuma, Trenshell said.
“We have contacted state and federal leaders and no one has a solution. There is no refund solution. We have been working on this for a year.”
Trenchl asked the commission for help in finding sources of payment for illegal immigration care and a long-term action plan.
“One hospital cannot and should not pay for the health care of a national immigration problem.”
Before Biden took the oath of office, Sheriff Wilmot said Yuma was “one of the safest border communities and counties based on our collective government efforts.”
The 40 daily concerns under former President Donald Trump ballooned to over 200 under Biden and then over 1,000 daily encounters.
He described the garbage left behind by illegal immigrants on Yuma’s fertile farmlands as an environmental disaster.
In addition to increasing border crimes such as kidnapping and rape, Mexican drug cartels are exploiting children and adolescents and transporting illegal drugs such as fentanyl across the border into Arizona, Wilmot said. .
Of the more than 700 illegal immigrant deaths in the desert, Wilmot’s office investigated 70 in 2022.
Lines told the commission that the border crisis was “significantly worsening” despite the US Border Patrol and Customs’ enormous efforts to secure the Yuma sector.
Since Biden took office, Yuma County has seen a “surge” in illegal immigration from 106 countries, 17 of which have been designated as special concerns because of their negative ties to the United States. , says Lines.
The increase in drug trafficking was “significantly greater than by any other administration in our history”.
Each committee member had five minutes to ask questions to the panel and express their concerns about the border crisis.
Several Republicans called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas for mishandling the border crisis.
Yuma resident Gail Castricone said she felt “very encouraged” by her testimony at the hearing.
“We need hope. We didn’t have any hope,” Castricone told the Epoch Times. “So this was great. It devastated not only Yuma, but our entire country.”
Castricone said the border crisis has increased fears for the property and safety of residents.
“We fear for our lives, the lives of our children and the lives of our communities. It will take no more.”
“It’s not just ranchers, or homes. We’re afraid of our homes. And we’re worried about our neighbors. There are more scary people hiding here and there in Yuma.”
U.S. Congressman Paul Gosser (R-Arizona) told the committee that Americans have been “battered” by the media claiming “there are only 10 to 11 million illegal immigrants in this country.” there is,” he said. it’s not true. “
A 2014 study put it at about 36 million, he said, and nearly 6 million since Biden took office.
“You are up to 40 million illegal immigrants. With a population of 360 million, 10 million doesn’t make much of a difference. That’s where this goes.
Gosar said the way to solve this problem is through “purse power” at the legislative level. “That battle is about to begin.”
“We have an opportunity to fund them. Can you say ATF? So now we fight them.”
Asked if the Republican House majority would stand up to the challenge, Jordan told the Epoch Times, “We better do that.”
