Kelly visits San Luis to talk port upgrades
Newly passed infrastructure bill sends more than 300 million dollars straight to San Luis - News 11's Cody Lee reports
SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly made a stop in Yuma County Tuesday as the 1.9 trillion-dollar infrastructure bill heads to President Joe Biden's desk for him to sign into law.
A portion of the funds will go to modernizing three land ports of entry, including the port in San Luis.
The San Luis Arizona Port of Entry has not been renovated since 1985.
That’s why Kelly has fought hard to bring more than 3.5 billion dollars to Arizona ports.
“So getting more vehicles across the border, get them inspected when we need to inspect them and process individuals. You know, who will support the businesses, you know, not only here but even in Phoenix as well that's, that's important for the economy,” Kelly told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
He tells News 11 the funding will also go to hiring more CBP agents.
The money will go to making sure agents are getting people across the border in a quick manner and towards outdated technology.
“[Here to] Look at the technology, look what works, some of the [equipment] works great. Other things, we're looking at a license plate reader, that this time of day didn't work well because of glare," Sen. Kelly explained.
"These are things that can be addressed over time with, in some cases, with enough simple solutions, I mean, provide shade cover for a bigger part of the area,” he added.
Kelly hopes it will increase commerce across the border and better the economy in Arizona.
As far as the current border crisis, the senator is currently working to come up with new legislation.
“I’ve introduced legislation with Sen. Portman to come up with a plan and funding to make sure that the border patrol and CBP have what it needs to deal with these searches regardless of who is in the White House,” he explained.
The massive infrastructure bill also sets aside 55 billion dollars for Arizona's drinking water and wastewater. Along with eight billion going towards aging dams.
As for the port remodel, Sen. Kelly says they will break ground soon after the bill is signed by the President.
