By EFE
07 Oct 2023, 12:41 PM EDT
Democratic Congressman Raúl Grijalva urged President Joe Biden to provide more funds to the Arizona border counties that, in his opinion, are the “epicenter” of the immigration crisis.
At a press conference in Tucson, Grijalva warned that the immigration crisis “is not something that will end overnight,” so it is necessary to focus on providing the relief needed by the counties and local organizations that are assisting them daily.
Grijalva, who has been representing an area of Arizona in the United States Congress for 20 years, visited the Casa Alitas migrant shelter, which is operating at 176% of its capacity, according to its directives.
The congressman stressed that it has been proven that the border wall does not work, nor does the use of the National Guard to stop the migratory flow.
“We must face reality and stop promoting rhetoric that only seeks to create panic among the American people,” said the Democratic legislator, just when the Biden Government has announced that it will continue with the works to reinforce the wall.
He also acknowledged that it will be very difficult to pass a federal immigration law in the coming months, especially after the historic removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy as leader of the United States House of Representatives.
Also given the latent risk of a possible closure of the federal government before the end of the year.
For this reason, Grijalva, like other Pima County representatives, is asking the White House to intervene to guarantee funds to border counties and organizations that assist migrants.
Earlier this month, the Pima County government agreed to use $7.5 million from the emergency fund provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue assisting migrants.
“The problem is that it is increasingly difficult for us to reimburse this money. Now they ask us for the identification number of each migrant who arrives at the shelter, however, some of them do not have this documentation or it is incomplete,” Adelita told EFE. Grijalva, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors at the end of the same press conference.
In recent months, record numbers of migrant arrests have been reported in states such as Texas, Arizona and California.
Faced with this increase, the Border Patrol began to release hundreds of migrants in communities near the border, arguing that they did not have the resources to keep them in detention centers.
This is causing more problems for shelters and groups that assist migrants who have to find a way to transport them to a safe place and help them reach their final destination.
Keep reading:
- Biden is criticized after approving the construction of a border wall in southern Texas
- Joe Biden affirmed that he cannot avoid reinforcing the border wall with Mexico
- AMLO opposes the US proposal to reinforce the border wall with Mexico