Border Patrol arrests in the Yuma, Arizona sector outnumber the city’s population, prompting its mayor to declare a state of emergency.
On Thursday afternoon, Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls proclaimed a local emergency to address what he called a humanitarian crisis affecting his city. Declaring a state of emergency makes Yuma eligible for state and federal funding to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents.
“Migrants are traveling through Yuma during a time of great uncertainty about the COVID-19 virus, and without provisions for adequate food, water, shelter, transportation and medical care, this surge of migrants has — and will continue to — strain the ability of medical staff and local hospital resources to provide essential and necessary medical care,” the Yuma mayor said in a statement.
Nicholls said he received reports of more than 6,000 migrants crossing from Mexico into the United States through the Yuma area in just the last five days. The U. S. Customs and Border Protection reports the number of migrant encounters has increased by 2,647 percent since Oct. 1.
CBP data tells the same tale as the mayor. According to their website, 1,002,722 unique individuals have been encountered year-to-date during the 2021 fiscal year, compared to 851,513 during the same time period in 2019.
“The change in the movement of migrants greatly impacts the Yuma community,” Nicholls said, arguing federal resources must increase to meet this new level.
The mayor said this year’s surge of migrants directly impacts the community’s agriculture industry. Currently, migrants walk through active agriculture fields, which raises food safety concerns. Illegal aliens walking through planted fields also destroy crops, causing significant economic loss and property damage for farmers. The crop destruction caused by the relentless hordes of aliens sneaking into the U.S. also causes agriculture-related jobs to be lost because there is less to harvest, prepare and ship. Further, it represents a threat to the nation’s food security.
When Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, visited Yuma this week, he announced an Arizona National Guard surge of personnel and equipment will be sent to the area to counter the surge of illegal aliens.
“The Biden border crisis is out of control and it’s getting worse by the day,” Ducey told reporters after a tour with local authorities. Ducey added the crisis has been exacerbated by President Joe Biden ending immigration policies, such as former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.