Officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Yuma division said Thursday that migrants passing through the border area are at risk of overheating in the desert.
Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Cordle said migrants are welcome to report to the port of entry, but Border Patrol agents are ready to respond if rescue is needed.
“We go out there and rescue people in need,” Cordle told KAWC.
Caudle’s remarks were made at a press conference that included officials from the Mexican Consulate in Yuma and the Guatemalan Consulate in Tucson. I was.
The deputy chief said Yuma Sector BP is bracing for a surge as Title 42 restrictions restricting processing are expected to end in early May.
He said he was preparing for the worst as Title 42 immigration protocols were set to expire. The agency is already seeing an increase in immigration traffic.
Caudle said he could not estimate the specific numbers he could see in Yuma County, but said the Yuma sector currently makes about 500 arrests a day. That’s an uptick from the last few months.
“We are preparing for an increase in cross-border traffic at the end of Title 42,” he told KAWC. However, the number of personnel has increased. Increased capacity. We have significantly increased our processing power so we are ready for the influx and will continue to work day in and day out. “
Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed border agents to block immigrants from entering the United States, is set to end on May 11.
Deputy Commissioner Caudle said about 90 percent of the migrants arrested in the Yuma area were not from Mexico.
CBP officials said they have conducted 346 desert and water rescues so far this year. In terms of recalls, in 2022 overall he has 52 and 15 so far this year.
Dulce Maria Valle Alvarez, the Mexican consul in Yuma, said the local consulate was notifying Mexican immigrants of their rights. He said shelters, including the Casa del Migrante La Divina Providencia in Colorado, could fill up.
Among Yuma Thursday’s distributors was Sonora’s C5. It is Centro de Commando, Control, Cómputo, Comunicaciones y Contacto Ciudadano or Control, Command, Communication, Computer and Quality Center.
