Yuma mayor requests additional aid for migrant families
April Hettinger investigates the COVID impact and available shelters
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls tweeted on Monday that migrant releases in Yuma and San Luis began Monday.
Nicholls said migrant family releases would be similar to 2019.
Nicholls said he is urging for more space at migrant holding facilities that allow for more compliance to safe CDC guidelines, more COVID testing, healthcare support for potential impact, and transportation resources to reduce the migrant situation at the border.
Mayor Nicholls says COVID has decreased the capacity available at the holding facility in Yuma.
"There have been some federal orders that have come down that have reduced capacity, that have reduced holding times, that have really kind of accelerated or exasperated the minor increase we have seen at the border so that as soon as border patrol agents or facilities are over capacity, they then need to release," Mayor Nicholls explained. "So, they're going over capacity quicker than they had say in 2019."
Nicholls says Border Patrol agents decide who gets released by checking criminal records.
But, Tony Reyes, executive director of Comite de Bienestar says there's something just as important they need to be checking.
"If you're going to release people in the community you better make sure that they've been in quarantine for at least 14 days, that they're free of the virus, that they're ready to go wherever they're going to go," Reyes said. "Unless the Border Patrol or Homeland Security is ready to tell us that, you know, how can we send them anywhere? We don't know where they've been. We don't know what they have."
The release came as a surprise and the non-profit didn't have any time to prepare.
The City of San Luis issued a statement about the release and how the timing pertains to the current pandemic and the vaccines.
“We don’t have any shelters or local organizations able to assist in the release of immigrants in need of humanitarian need. Specially during this pandemic and with a shortage of vaccines.”
- City of San Luis
Mayor Nicholls says the releases will vary day by day. It could be as low as one or two or as high as 20.
"We're working to make sure that we're not just sitting still and waiting," Mayor Nicholls stated. "We want to not have a humanitarian crisis where people are homeless and hungry."
The mayor says that right now there aren't any migrant shelters in Yuma County that can assist these migrants, but he hopes the state and the federal government can step in to help.
We have also reached out to Yuma Sector Border Patrol to hear more about these migrants being released into our community, but are still waiting to hear back.
AzCentral reported in March 2019, Border Patrol officials in Yuma started releasing migrant families from their custody into the streets of Yuma due to the large groups arriving with families and minors at the processing centers.
Migrant family releases are beginning again, similar to 2019. More information to come. pic.twitter.com/jYl9Z4qapG
— Douglas Nicholls (@MayorNicholls) February 16, 2021
