Yuma wall gap construction set to finish as Title 42 ends
Arizona Senator Mark Kelly says the projects at the Morelos Dam should wrap up this week
YUMA, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - On Monday morning, a group of over 200 migrants cross the border within five minutes.
They immediately turn themselves in, as local border patrol agents wait at the popular illegal crossing spot just north of County 14th Street.
According to the Border Patrol Chief, apprehensions have risen to over 8,000 a day border wide.
The recent figures are concerning to Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
“This is an issue that has unfairly fallen on the backs of communities in southern Arizona, and communities across the country,” Kelly said.
But Senator Kelly adds there is some good news to report as Yuma will receive a substantial portion of over $45 million in funding to Arizona from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.
He also expects local wall construction projects, which he pushed the Biden administration to resume, to wrap up soon.
“This week we’re finishing up construction of those four gaps near the Morelos Dam south of Yuma,” Kelly said.
However, he says at some point congress needs to come to an agreement to fix the big-picture issues.
Such as asylum reform, drug interdiction, and work visas.
“At the end of the day without comprehensive immigration reform, we can’t solve some of the other big portions of this,” Kelly said.
Senator Kelly was last in Yuma in January, when he toured the border as part of a bipartisan group of senators.
