YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma County Board of Supervisors recently accepted more than $5 million in border-related crime grants to the Yuma County Sheriff's Office (YCSO).

State funds will be used to reimburse YCSO for costs associated with prosecuting and incarcerating people charged with drug trafficking, human smuggling, illegal immigration, and other border-related crimes.

Yuma County Sheriff Leon Willmott said, “This is going to address immigration and border crimes that are taking place in Yuma County, and we're going to make sure that we actually have equipment, personnel, that we can use for investigative purposes and prosecutions. It's for that purpose.”

The $5.4 million grant is coming from the Arizona Department of Emergency Services.

Sheriff Willmott said YCSO applied for a grant to reimburse immigrants for jail costs.

“In the case of Yuma County, we found that the unanticipated costs of operating the jail were between 500,000 and 1.9 million per year, money that would normally be spent on infrastructure.” said Wilmot.

Wilmot said there are people from 20 countries in his prison.

“Mostly they were coming from Mexico, but we've also seen participants from China, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Romania, just to name a few. These people are also coming here on warrants. “Some of them are here because they committed heinous crimes,” Wilmot said.

He said it costs about $136 a day on average to be in prison, from food to medical expenses to teachers and other costs.

He said he is truly grateful for this much-needed funding.

“I want to thank our legislators for recognizing the fiscal impact on border counties and trying to help with that. It helped us a lot,” Wilmot said.