Arizona Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kristen Sinema (I-AZ) have asked for answers from three federal agencies after the state received just $23.9 million of more than $800 million in funding they helped secure to fund private organizations that house illegal immigrants released into the United States after being encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during their transit across the border.
In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the senators warned that Pima County may be unable to support the influx of migrants in April 2024. They noted that New York City received over four times more funding than Arizona.
“Arizona communities have been paying the price for Washington’s failures on the border,” the senators wrote in a statement that acknowledged the state “is experiencing an influx in migration, especially in remote areas of Arizona’s border during extreme weather,” and called on the agencies to rectify “mistakes” in their funding allotment.
The senators noted that New York City received $104.6 million, more than any southwest border state, and said the funding demonstrates “the failure of your agencies to prioritize the border communities that are on the frontlines.” They warned the limited funding will only last many cities, counties, and non-governmental organizations until early 2024.
Specifically, they noted that Pima County has either housed or transported more than 200,000 illegal immigrants since 2019. The senators added that the county “has indicated it will be unable to continue providing migrant services starting in April 2024.” Kelly and Sinema also noted the City of Yuma “was forced to declare a state of emergency twice” because of “the unmanagebale number of migrants released at the border” without help from local authorities.
The funding became available in this year’s federal budget, which included $800 million to support the CBP by creating the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). FEMA distributes the funding.
Kelly and Sinema urged the agencies to devote the remaining SSP funding to border communities and take other steps to improve the program to avoid “a humanitarian and security crisis” in Arizona. They also asked the Biden administration to explain the funding allocation formula.
A spokesman for Sinema confirmed to The Arizona Sun Times that the senator had not received a response from Mayorkas, FEMA, or CBP when reached by email.
After Title 42 was lifted earlier this year, The Center Square reported that CBP immediately instructed Border Patrol agents to release newly apprehended migrants in communities located on the United States side of the border.
Preferably, agents are to release illegal immigrants “in the vicinity of nongovernmental organizations.” They are told to work with the NGOs to determine “the availability of services and transportation options.”
Border Patrol agents were also ordered to “engage with nearby cities and local governments to identify alternative safe locations for release” should support NGOs not be readily available and instructed to ensure all releases are conducted in a “safe, humane, and orderly manner.”
In July, CBP reported a 33 percent spike in illegal immigration nationwide, with 183,503 migrant encounters reported during the month. More than 44,700 migrants were processed using the CBP One smartphone app promoted by the Biden administration, while CBP encountered an additional 132,652.
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Tom Pappert is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Krysten Sinema” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
haha, you two dopes got Biden’d
suckers.
bigger suckers are the people of AZ that voted for them