TUCSON, AZ — The port of entry in Lukeville, Arizona may be closed, but it's not stopping the surge of migrants from entering near the town through holes in the border wall. In a social media post on Monday, Scripps News Tucson reporter Adam Klepp said as many as 1,000 migrants were waiting for Border Protection Agents. Klepp said some of them told him they'd been waiting five days and had not eaten.
Between November 24 through December 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that more than 17,000 migrants entered the U.S. in the Tucson Sector. That compares to the 23,411 migrants who entered during the entire month of November in 2022.
"We need the federal government to act and provide more resources. We've been very clear about that. This is a bad decision," Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said.
Governor Hobbs says she is extremely frustrated by the Biden administration's decision to pull resources from the border to process migrants. But the governor is not considering, at this point anyway, sending the Arizona National Guard or DPS officers to help local law enforcement.
"We're in communication with folks on the ground, looking at all our options. It's not something they are asking for right now," Hobbs said.
In October, the Biden administration proposed spending $14 billion for additional border patrol agents and processing coordinators. But the border spending plan is part of a bigger package that includes funding for Ukraine and Israel. Congressional leaders hope they can reach a deal by the end of December.
"There's a lot more they could be doing," Hobbs said. "Both the Biden administration and again I know this is beating a drum that we've been beating for decades, we need comprehensive immigration reform to thoroughly address this issue."
The governor says the Biden Administration has not given any indication of how long the Lukeville port of entry will remain closed. For Valley residents who like to go to Rocky Point, the detour through San Luis will practically double the drive time and that's before you deal with the wait to get across the border.
