State Department of Homeland Security Director tours Yuma border

FOX 9's Adam Klepp caught up with Tim Roemer after his tour and discussed border security in Yuma County

YUMA, Ariz. (KECY, KYMA) - There's no sign of a slowdown in Yuma as more asylum seekers keep coming to the border.

Arizona Department of Homeland Security Director Tim Roemer toured the border wall Monday and met with local Border Patrol members. 

"We know the numbers are reaching all-time highs, we didn’t think last year’s numbers could be broken, but now we’re seeing that we can,” Roemer said.

CBP recorded 1.7 million enforcement encounters in Fiscal Year 2021, the current record.

Through the five reported months of this fiscal year, total apprehensions are well over 800,000, and on pace to be over 2 million by year’s end.

They are numbers that are expected to only rise once Title 42 ends on May 23rd.

The policy currently allows the government to send migrants back to their home country or Mexico due to the pandemic.

"I'm very nervous about the impact it will have on the entire border, and it could potentially overwhelm a lot of resources.”

Meanwhile, Yuma residents are starting to notice the activity at the wall.

One local told me he’s lived here in the winter for 4 years, but this was the first time he visited the wall not at a border crossing.

"It’s just amazing to see the gaps in the wall, and the people pouring through.”

Roemer says he hopes the White House decides to increase resources at the border prior to the end of Title 42.

"Deploying the national guard would make a big difference," Roemer said. "Finishing the wall in certain areas would make a big difference, and extra technology would make a big difference.”