The mayor of Somerton said his city’s police and fire departments are gearing up for a Title 42 end on Thursday, but it’s unclear how that will play out here.

Pandemic-era policies allowed Border Patrol agents to return asylum seekers to Mexico.

Somerton’s primary role has been as a city where immigrants released by Border Patrol go to the Regional Border Health Center for medical examinations before boarding buses to Phoenix and assistance with travel planning. bottom.

Mayor Jerry Anaya told KAWC that the city’s boundaries extend west to the US-Mexico border. Somerton-Cocopah firefighters often answer immigrant medical calls.

“Somerton is a small city with a small fire station, and when we have to go to respond to emergencies along the border, it affects our residents. That’s the effect on us,” Mayor Anaya said. I got

Anaya added that his city would accept more resources from the federal government to help immigrants.

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Stay tuned to KAWC for more details on the end of Title 42 and what you’ll find here.