Senator and Chair Adelita Grijalva discussed the serious increase of street releases and migrant encounters in the Tucson Sector
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Pima County Board of Supervisors Chair Adelita Grijalva discussed the serious increase of street releases and migrant encounters in the Tucson Sector.
“Arizona border communities are in crisis and the federal government needs to do its job – I’m holding the administration accountable and finding real solutions to keep Arizona families safe and secure,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee.
Sinema highlighted that the serious increase in street releases of migrants makes clear the only way Arizona communities can manage the flow of migrants is with federal support – especially in the Tucson Sector where it continues to be a hotspot for migrant encounters. The Senator echoed those views in a recent meeting with U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens.
Earlier this year, Sinema secured $800 million for the Shelter and Services Program, including $77 million for Arizona, to help NGOs provide food, shelter, and other critical services to ensure the health and safety of border communities and migrants. Sinema stressed the importance of this funding to Pima County and Arizona border communities and reassured Chair Grijalva she is pressing the administration to use this funding to alleviate the unsustainable strain on border communities – as Congress intended.
The Senator is working to bring solutions-focused Senators together to craft meaningful, lasting solutions to secure the border, keep Arizonans safe, and ensure the fair and humane treatment of migrants.
The Tucson Sector continues to be a hotspot for migrant encounters. In October 2023, the Tucson Sector had the highest number of encounters of all sectors with 55,224 encounters. Overall, throughout Fiscal Year 2023, the Tucson Sector had the third highest number of encounters with 373,625 encounters. From September 12, 2023 through the end of November, over 19,000 migrants were released into small Arizona communities, including Nogales, Douglas, Bisbee, and Casa Grande.
In a recent Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Sinema called for serious, meaningful action addressing the growing crisis at the Southern border. The Senator emphasized how Arizona communities bear the brunt of the federal government’s failures on the border, especially when migrants are released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities directly into Arizona communities – straining local resources, stranding migrants, and endangering communities.