Broadcast-quality video & audio clips:
Chair Sinema’s opening remarks: video & audio
Chair Sinema’s questions: video & audio
Ahead of the Administration’s end of Title 42, Senator discussed with Arizona mayors and county officials the border and immigration crisis’s impact on their communities; highlighted the security, humanitarian, and economic challenges that will increase if a workable plan for the end of Title 42 is not in place
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema led a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Border Management Subcommittee hearing on the ongoing border and immigration crisis’s impact on Arizona border communities ahead of Title 42’s permanent suspension, which is expected to worsen the crisis.
Witnesses included Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls, Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa II, and Pima County Deputy County Administrator & Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia who shared how the crisis affects their communities.
“This crisis is not new; it’s one that has progressively worsened year after year, Administration after Administration, due to the federal government’s repeated failures to address our broken border and immigration system. While inaction continues, the price for this failure falls on local communities, which risks safety and endangers the wellbeing of migrants,” said Sinema, Chair of the Border Management Subcommittee.
The Administration will end COVID-19-related emergency declarations on May 11, which will also remove the basis for Title 42. Sinema recently questioned Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the Administration’s plans to manage increased levels of migration following Title 42’s permanent suspension. Following her questioning, the Senator remains concerned that the Administration is not prepared to handle the anticipated surge of encounters.
For more than a year, Sinema has urged the Administration to implement a comprehensive plan to prepare for the anticipated surge of encounters when Title 42 ends.
Earlier this month, Sinema led a Congressional delegation to tour the Southwest border visiting Douglas, Bisbee, and Naco to continue her focus on the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis impacting Arizona communities. The Senator was joined by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), and Congressman David Valadao (R-Calif.). In Bisbee, the delegation participated in a local perspectives discussion with Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and other local leaders to hear from the Arizonans on the frontlines of the ongoing border crisis.
At the end of last year, Sinema partnered with Republican Senator Thom Tillis on a bipartisan proposal to fuel investments in Border Patrol Agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations Officers; provide control of the border through increased enforcement, technology, resources, and more; modernize the asylum system; reform the employment visa system to ensure our nation’s global competitiveness; and establish a pathway for legal citizenship for roughly 2 million Dreamers who were brought to this country when they were children through no fault of their own.