Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) sent a letter to the Biden administration requesting reimbursement for funds the state has spent on the southern border.
“The federal government must act immediately to solve the unmitigated crisis caused by the Lukeville Port of Entry closure, “Hobbs shared on X. “Today, I sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to reassign National Guard members to assist in its reopening, as well as reimburse the $512,529,333 federal border inaction has cost us.”
“The recent decision to close the Lukeville Port of Entry has led to an unmitigated humanitarian crisis in the area and has put Arizona’s safety and commerce at risk,” Hobbs wrote. “Our ports of entry are essential to our state and our country’s economy, and it is vital that they be properly staffed and resourced to continue to fuel economic growth in the state.”
Hobbs also requested the presence of additional National Guard members.
“Further, to the extent it is necessary, I am requesting that additional National Guard members currently on federal active duty orders be reassigned to Arizona to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry. With this additional manpower, I am confident you will have the resources necessary to continue trade and tourism through the port while keeping Arizona communities safe.”
As the State of Arizona has spent $512,529,333 on “border operations including migrant transportation, drug interdiction, and law enforcement, Hobbs requested the “federal government reimburse the state for these expenses.”
At the time the letter was sent, Hobbs launched Operation SECURE (Safety, Enforcement, Coordination, & Uniform Response) to “mobilize additional state resources to bring order and security to the border,” according to a press release.
Operation SECURE will “create a new Border Security Office within the Department of Homeland Security,” which will be funded with $2 million from [American Rescue Plan Act].
The office will “serve as a hub of coordination for border security operations to ensure local, state, and federal assets are being properly leveraged to keep Arizonans safe and maintain a secure, humane, and orderly border,” the press release explained. “In addition, unless the Biden Administration promptly reopens the port of entry, the operation will mobilize up to $5 million for the National Guard to augment and support the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies along the southern border, including fentanyl interdiction efforts.”
In October, American Faith reported that Border Patrol agents in Lukeville, Arizona, said they were overwhelmed with a steady flow of illegal immigrants crossing the border.
