NOGALES, Ariz. (KGUN) — Southern Arizona leaders brought local representatives to the White House as President Biden formally announced his executive order on immigration, including Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manny Ruiz, who was in Washington, D.C. for the event.
Many of the impressions about life on the border come from people who live far away from the border wall, but in Nogales the border is a part of everyday life. People cross the border to conduct legitimate business. Families live on both sides. That's why the head of the Santa Cruz County Supervisors was in the White House when the president signed that executive order.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manny Lewis said he, Sen. Mark Kelly and Rep. Greg Stanton were the only Arizona officials in the White House when President Biden announced his executive orders on the border.
He said they were all frustrated that the president felt forced to resort to executive orders after a bipartisan border bill that would have included funding for immigration officers, Border Patrol agents and drug enforcement was defeated.
“This bill had complete bipartisan support, but unfortunately the former president, for whatever reason, and I've heard from many of them, didn't want to give the Biden administration any wins, especially on immigration,” Lewis said.
Lewis said Congressional legislation can fund border security, but executive orders can't.
Increased enforcement within Mexico is a major reason for the drop in border crossings, and the big question is whether Mexico's new president will keep up the pressure.
“From the members of the administration that have spoken with us, and from the brief conversations we've had with the president, it appears the president-elect wants to work in a similar fashion and continue the friendship and ties that we currently enjoy between Mexico and the United States,” Superintendent Ruiz said.
Biden also said he was ordering other measures to disrupt the transportation systems used by traffickers to move large groups of people into Central America and then across the U.S.-Mexico border.
