Arizona Governor Ducey tours the border on Yuma Day after the state of emergency is announced and activates the guard

Arizona governor Doug Ducey toured the U.S.-Mexico border near Yuma on Wednesday, the day after he announced a state of emergency and activated the Arizona National Guard.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey explains what his declaration of emergency and activation of the Arizona National Guard forces means to Yuma County.

Ducey said he wanted to see firsthand what he considered to be a security and humanitarian crisis on the border and called on the Biden administration for its “failed leadership.”

The governor met with officials from the Yuma Sector Border Police and was accompanied by elected officials and border sheriffs.

“We will send up to 250 of our best women and men to our border communities, including here in Yuma,” Ducey said in front of a section of the border fence west of Yuma and operational support for Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot and his team. ”

This week, a facility for migrants with soft sides opened at the headquarters of the Yuma Sector Border Police.

Joining Ducey was Senate President Karen Fann, House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck, Sheriff Wilmot, Doug Nicholls, Mayor of Yuma, Jonathan Lines, Mayor of Yuma, Jerry Sanchez, Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County, local agricultural leaders, and other leaders and members of the legislature.

The governor received a briefing on border protection operations from Chris Clem, Chief Patrol Agent of the Yuma Sector. Ducey said the Yuma sector spans 126 miles of international border with Mexico, with three checkpoints currently manned by more than 700 border guards.

Ducey declared a state of emergency in six counties, including Yuma, Maricopa, Pima, Cochise, Santa Cruz and Pinal, and dispatched the Arizona National Guard to the state’s southern border to assist with law enforcement efforts.

Ducey said the state will provide up to $ 25 million in initial funding for the mission.

Since January there has been a sharp increase in illegal crossings and migrant children in federal custody on the border between the USA and Mexico. Ducey said U.S. Customs and Border Protection had more than 170,000 arrests on the southwest border in March, the highest number in a month in at least 15 years.

US Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema wrote a letter to the Biden administration to help manage the crisis on the southern border by reimbursing Arizona for the deployment of National Guards on the Arizona border to support border security efforts.

“We are ready to work with you to support our border communities, secure the border, prevent the spread of COVID-19 and treat all migrants and unaccompanied children fairly and humanely,” wrote the senators.

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Stay tuned to KAWC to learn more about Governor Ducey’s visit to the border near Yuma.