Details from U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham’s visit to Yuma
Senator Graham met with local officials about the border crisis - 13 On Your Side's Arlette Yousif reports
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham spent the day at the San Luis port of entry and the border to see just how serious the immigration situation really is.
Some of our top officials, such as Yuma County Supervisors Tony Reyes and Jonathan Lines joined Sen. Graham, along with Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls who shared the challenges they face when it comes to the never-ending traffic of asylum seekers.
"I am willing to work with Democrats to find a way to deal with the DACA population, other groups only if we secure our border and stop the flow. Until something in Washington changes, I just don’t see this getting any better and y'all guys are on the tip of the sphere here. Most of the people don’t stay here, but they do have an impact on your community," says U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R).
The senator says he knew it was bad but didn’t know to what extent.
"If we don’t change our policies, Yuma is gonna become the Del Rio, Texas situation. It is coming your way. We were told today that word is out and Mexico, and the drug cartels, and the smugglers are directing people to this sector of the U.S. Border," explains U.S. Sen. Graham (R).
The senator said he is open to meet with any democrat for a solution to stop the high number of undocumented immigrants from coming into Yuma. Yuma Mayor Nicholls says there’s only so much that can be done at a local level.
"This is a federal issue. This is an issue that needs to be solved at the federal level. I can do all the talking, I can do all the advocating I can, but until we have officials and elected leaders here on the ground understanding the situation and then taking that back and then having that impact… their decisions, as well as all the fellow leaders with them, is the most important part of this," says Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls.
Sen. Graham says that the time border patrol spends processing asylum seekers leaves U.S. security vulnerable and that he fears terrorists will find a way in when no one is looking.
Sen. Graham says the Biden administration needs to step up and help limit the number of asylum seekers, especially at the Yuma Sector.
