U.S. Congressmen warn of border surge during visit to Yuma

FOX 9's Adam Klepp joined the lawmakers on their tour of illegal crossing hotspots along the Yuma Sector border

YUMA, Ariz (KECY, KYMA) - Members of Congress from Arizona, as well as other states across the country visited Yuma to get a first-hand look at illegal crossing hotspots along the border.

In a morning meeting with Border Patrol, they say they were told over 150 thousand migrants have been apprehended in Yuma so far since October.

“It’s only going to get worse, once Title 42 goes away, there’s going to be a surge that I don’t think the local community knows is coming,” Republican Representative from Kentucky James Comer said.

The tour was led by county supervisor Jonathan Lines, who says solving the border crisis will take cooperation across party lines, and across border communities.

"We are a solutions-oriented community looking to come together and solve our problems and do what is best for our community,” Lines said.

The morning of the group’s tour, another big group awaited law enforcement at the Morelos Dam.

Leida Aguilar is just one of the reported over 100,000 migrants who have come to Yuma since October.

She says she is seeking asylum from Colombia due to the poor economy and violence.

"In Colombia there is no future," Aguilar said. "It’s very scary. Sometimes bombs go off, social leaders are murdered, they’ll rob you and kill you, there is a lot of insecurity, in every sense of the word.”

Congressman Byron Donalds from Florida says the country should honor asylum claims from migrants like Aguilar. He says migrants should make asylum claims at U.S. Embassies, not the southern border.

"The Biden administration could end this tomorrow if they say we will process asylum claims, but not at the southern border, this would end overnight,” Donalds said.

The congressional members all say today they don’t have faith the administration will have a solution for the border crisis by the time Title 42 ends in May.

That's concerning for Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, who declared a local emergency due to the border activity in December.

He says the Department of Homeland Security told him the gaps in the wall would be filled in by October.

"End of the fiscal year is going to be a little too late, because we’re going to have a lot of people coming through before that," Nicholls said.