Mayor Nicholls meets with DHS secretary at CBP El Paso facility
On Tuesday, allegations came out accusing Yuma Sector Border Patrol of sexual assault and the mistreatment of dozens of migrant children in its custody.
Allegations of mistreatment have sprung up at other processing centers along our border as well.
Thursday, The United States Conference of Mayors ( USCM ) scheduled a meeting between the mayors of border cities, along with Yuma’s Mayor, Doug Nicholls, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary, Kevin McAleenan , to talk about the current border crisis facing the country, held in El Paso, Texas.
The mayors discussed an agenda referred to as non-political, and are seeking long-term solutions to what they consider to be a humanitarian crisis at the southern border.
Mayor Nicholls talked about the drove of migrants moving through Yuma.
He also drew similarities between Yuma and El Paso, such as both cities are bi-cultural, economical, and societal border cities.
Nicholls says it’s important to exchange ideas on how to properly handle immigration.
” To understand how they’ve addressed it here in El Paso, talking to the secretary and his staff about what we can look for in the future, and express our concerns. Especially, as we come through the summer and look forward to our multi-billion dollar agriculture industry that relies upon a working port of entry with easy access for workers and for trade. If there’s a redistribution of customs officials from the border, it slows down and inhibits that process. I think it’ll have a dramatic impact on our communities, ” Nicholls said.
The mayors were also granted access to the El Paso Customs and Border Protection facilities.
USCM President, Rochester Hills (MI) Mayor Bryan Barnett, said the mayors were treated in the same fashion as a migrant family crossing the border and described the experience as ” eye-opening ” .
