The federal government lifted Title 42 restrictions on the border Thursday, prompting Arizona and other border states to take action to deal with the surge of illegal immigrants beginning to pour over the U.S.’s southern border with Mexico. Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs held a press conference on Monday to announce her administration’s plans to handle the surge, which consist of assisting the illegal immigrants, not turning them back to Mexico.
The end of Title 42 means migrants can resume applying for asylum, which was suspended the past three years due to COVID-19. The Biden administration has only provided 1,500 troops to the border to help with backup support when Title 42 is lifted.
Hobbs said her five-point “Title 42 Preparedness Approach” includes transportation, emergency shelter, executive actions, partnerships, and public safety. The state will expand busing migrants to areas beyond Washington D.C., which is where they were sent under Governor Doug Ducey. Five new bus routes have been set up to transport the migrants from small communities that lack the resources to deal with the influx to Tucson.
Hobbs said the state’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA) will take the migrants where they wanted to go. “DEMA will assist, provide and coordinate the best and safest mode of transportation for migrants. By doing this, we can mitigate the impact of the increased migration on our border communities. We will make sure that the most cost effective method of transportation is being used and that there is clear coordination between sponsors and NGOs, for emergency shelter.”
Merissa Hamilton, head of EZAZ and a former candidate for mayor of Phoenix, tweeted her dismay. “Her law enforcement spokespeople say it’s a humanitarian issue ONLY,” she said.
Her law enforcement spokespeople say it's a humanitarian issue ONLY 🤦🏻♀️
— Merissa Hamilton 🗳 ⛽ 🗽🔥 (@merissahamilton) May 8, 2023
Hamilton expressed her skepticism, “Keep in mind, there’s no ‘free’ government travel agency for American citizens,” she tweeted. “They aren’t going to check if people are legitimately seeking asylum. They are going to help all foreigners with a travel agency service to their ‘final destination.’”
Hobbs blamed the Biden administration, “I’m afraid the federal government is unprepared to meet the demands of the expected influx.” Hobbs claimed she had no luck contacting President Joe Biden and Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the situation. “As of today, we have not received an adequate response,” she said.
Hobbs said $7 million from the state’s Border Security Fund can be designated for transportation, shelter, and public safety operations. Hamilton retorted, “Breaking this down, @katiehobbs plan is to use our AZ resources to assist in human/sex trafficking and slavery that is the border. Only specific she gave was AZ becoming a travel agency and repurposing the border wall containers to house foreigners while veterans remain homeless.”
At the press conference, Democratic Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos echoed Hobbs’ focus on assisting the migrants instead of turning them away. “I thank you for not just your pragmatic response, but more so for your humanitarian beliefs that this is a humanitarian issue and we need to deal with it as such,” he said to Hobbs. He also blamed the federal government, and declared, “We all know that we can put all the uniforms you want on that border, but we also know that’s not the solution.” He complained about how the federal government isn’t doing anything to help with “our Dreamers.”
Yuma Mayor Douglas Nichols said that with a thousand migrants expected to cross the border daily in the Yuma Sector now, it will be a matter of just a few weeks before that area runs out of resources to handle them. He said the numbers have already increased from 300 a month ago to 1,000 daily. “We’ve never seen anything close to this …. This is uncharted territory,” he said.
In December 2021, Nichols declared a local emergency due to the surging numbers. On Thursday, he sent a letter to Biden requesting a Proclamation of National Disaster. He said, “Our economies are hurt, our hospitals’ medical care can be overwhelmed by these projected numbers, and the safety of American citizens is at risk. Since passage of the National Emergencies Act in 1976, every U.S. president has declared multiple national emergencies to address crises just like this one. Despite all these proclamations, we have none from you.”
Hobbs said the shelters in Tucson were already at capacity. In addition to providing living quarters, the shelters also provide the migrants with transportation to move to where they want to live.
A reporter asked Hobbs about the shipping containers placed on the border under the Ducey administration to close gaps, and Hobbs explained why she took them down. “Closing the gaps is a federal responsibility, and the reason the shipping containers aren’t there anymore is because the federal government was going to sue the state to take them down. So they’re down now and we own them and they’re sitting in storage and we’re looking, we’re working on plans to repurpose them for things like housing.”
Hobbs said she has not committed to putting National Guard troops on the border. There are currently only 180 stationed there.
In contrast to Hobbs’ approach, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Twitter that his state will be turning illegal immigrants back.
“We’re deploying the new Texas Tactical Border Force to border hotspots to repel illegal crossings,” Abbott tweeted. “These elite soldiers will fill in the gaps in preparation for Title 42 ending this week. In Biden’s absence, Texas continues taking unprecedented action to respond to this crisis.”
We’re deploying the new Texas Tactical Border Force to border hotspots to repel illegal crossings.
These elite soldiers will fill in the gaps in preparation for Title 42 ending this week.
In Biden's absence, Texas continues taking unprecedented action to respond to this crisis. pic.twitter.com/Mgam014GCM
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 8, 2023
The federal government estimates as many as 13,000 migrants will cross the border every day.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Governor Katie Hobbs” by Katie Hobbs.
