Yuma’s mayor says he supports Gov. Doug Ducey’s refusal to remove shipping container barricades from the southern border.

Yuma Mayor Douglas Nichols told KAWC that he supports the barricades.

“Someone needs to step up to control what’s going on, and the governor is doing it,” he said.

Republican Mayor Nicholls says the federal government’s allegations don’t matter too much to him.

“I read the response from the federal government. Basically they are angry that the states have encroached on federal land, but they seem to ignore the encroachment of 300,000 people on federal land. And there were no letters of opposition, no opposition to that activity.”

Unsurprisingly, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva sees the situation quite differently.

“This is a political stunt, a campaign stunt.”

Rep. Grijalva says Republican Governor Ducey is running the politics.

“The problem is this. We are in the midst of the midterm elections, the Republican Party, and the Ducey crowd. Others look at immigration and see the border as a red meat issue that can be used to beat the Democrats.” I have.”

Congressmen say the barriers should never have been raised in the first place.

But Mayor Nicholls said the state barrier is working as designed.

“Containers out there really help control the flow. Control it so that it’s manageable, not lessening it, so I support the governor in that position,” he said.

Congressman admits there are serious problems along the border, for his part

“The border issue is a crisis, and I do not deny it, but it is because there is no solution,” he said.

But he questions the motives of Republicans.

“People think the worse the situation, the more political advantage I have, but that doesn’t solve the problem.”

And Grijalva says there is a certain irony in their position.

“These people are fleeing the authoritarian and hardline government that some people in this country now seem to embrace.”

Delegates pointed to just a few of the immigration reform measures passed by Congress, such as the Dreamer Act and laws to make it easier for farm workers to cross borders, but the long-term, broader solution to the immigrant situation remains elusive.

He says the answers will continue to evade lawmakers until they sit down and have meaningful conversations specifically aimed at finding common ground.

“Unless we work on solutions, how to improve the facilities and staffing of ports of entry, and how to give enforcement attention to syndicates, to enable the flow of goods and services, lawful goods and services, border borders. Crime syndicates on both sides continue to contribute because their interests are tied to human smuggling, human exploitation, drug influx and gun outflow.”

Grijlava does not expect such conversations to take place in the current political climate, but hopes they will take place in the future.

“I really see this generation emerging as a key change agent in this country and righting the ship.”

The Ducey administration has said in the past that it would remove the shipping container barriers once construction of permanent barricades began.

Construction of two gaps in federal fencing is expected to begin in early January.