As Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee, Sinema led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to show colleagues the border crisis facing Arizona communities and Border Patrol agents
BISBEE – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee, led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Southwest border near Naco to continue finding lasting solutions to the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis impacting Arizona communities. Art Del Cueto – Executive Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) – led the Members of Congress on the line tour.
Sinema 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.).
“We’re showing our colleagues the reality of the border crisis affecting Arizona families, communities, and our Border Patrol agents on a daily basis. By hearing from the Arizonans who understand this issue best, we’ll be better able to secure our border, protect border communities, and ensure the fair and humane treatment of migrants,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee.
NBPC Executive Vice President Art Del Cueto discussed the unique challenges Border Patrol agents experience in the Tucson Sector and how cartels operate in the region with the bipartisan delegation.
The Tucson Sector is one of two Border Patrol sectors in Arizona. It covers a total of 262 border miles, and it is one of the busiest border sectors in the country. The most recent publicly available data indicates that from October 2022 to the end of February 2023, the Tucson Sector Border Patrol encountered more than 112,000 migrants who had illegally entered the United States.
Prior to the Sinema-led tour, 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; reassert 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.
In a December Senate floor speech about her bipartisan proposal, Sinema vowed to continue her work finding a path forward on a comprehensive plan to secure the border and ensure the humane treatment of migrants in the new year by bringing a group of committed Senators to the Southwest border.
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