Rep. Dunn, Osborne and Senator Kerr support Yuma’s emergency declaration

Representatives Tim Dunn, Joanne Osborne, and Senator Sine Kerr expressed their support for the City of Yuma’s declaration of emergency on Wednesday.

“The federal government’s continued lack of border security, its inability to provide timely asylum processing, and the Border Patrol’s policy of releasing migrants into communities has created a humanitarian crisis in border cities,” said Representative Dunn. “The Department of Justice should immediately provide judges to accurately determine who is deserving of asylum. The current message to the world is that if you illegally cross our border, you can stay. This is a message that Americans do not tolerate. The local nonprofit organizations are overburdened, and we need resources from the federal government to assist in this federally created crisis.”

“It’s unfortunate that this emergency declaration is necessary,” said Representative Osborne. “The federal government has created a humanitarian crisis that has put both border communities and migrants in a terrible situation. I applaud the community of Yuma for doing everything they can to address this crisis, and I urge the federal government to secure the border and provide border communities with sufficient judges to handle the influx of asylum seekers.”

“A secure border and a functional asylum process means safety and security on both sides of the border,” said Senator Kerr. “Yuma has had a history of success in border management when Operation Streamline was fully funded. Given adequate federal resources, Yuma has proven that it knows what it takes to secure the border. I call on Congress to provide Yuma and other border communities with the adequate federal resources necessary to cope with this crisis. Border communities should not have to shoulder this burden alone, as it is a federal responsibility to effectively manage our immigration and asylum process.”