NOGALES, Ariz. — Gov. Katie Hobbs broke her silence on Monday and released her plan for how Arizona will address an expected increase in migration when Title 42 ends on Thursday.
Hobbs, before Monday, had not shared any information on how she planned to address the expected increase in people hoping to find asylum, a new home or better living opportunities heading to the U.S.-Mexico border after the pandemic-era migration rules expire.
Officials in D.C., Arizona and towns across the border are scrambling to find solutions on how to alleviate what the Department of Homeland Security calls a "fundamentally outdated and broken immigration system."
Title 42, used widely by both the Trump and Biden administrations, allowed the government to expel people who were seeking asylum after entering the U.S. illegally. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the expulsions were done under the premise of public health precautions. President Biden essentially expanded the program at the beginning of 2023, before the program lapses on May 11.
Here is Hobbs' five-point plan:
- Public Safety - Arizona Department of Public Safety assisting local law enforcement through search and rescue operations and assisting drug interception.
- Partnerships - NGOs, federal agencies and other states working together to help migrants get to their end destination.
- Transportation - Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA) assisting migrants with safe transportation, lessening the burden of local communities and states.
- Executive Action - Powers of Gov. Hobbs used to provide emergency funding and assist in specific border challenges.
- Shelter - Providing emergency funding for temporary shelter while migrants await transportation outside of Arizona.
Hobbs also sent a letter to both President Biden and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that said local organizations and communities could no longer shoulder the responsibility of processing migrants and that the federal government would have to step up.
"We need a robust federal response to this crisis that ensures a secure, humane, and organized process at Arizona's southern border," the letter said.
The challenges will be most felt by overwhelmed migrants, over-capacity detention facilities and overly stressed border communities, namely in Yuma and Nogales.
"What we've been doing isn't working, and it's causing potential for loss of life, and just pain and hardship," Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls said in a recent interview. "But more needs to be done."
Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema have advocated to keep Title 42 in place while suggesting the Biden administration prioritize workable and humane solutions that don't burden the border towns.
“The numbers need to match the resources, if they don’t, border patrol could find themselves being overwhelmed by the numbers,” Kelly said in an exclusive interview.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Arizona border mayor says Biden needs to do more, but troop deployment shows he knows there's a problem
- Asylum seekers at Mexico border must use a flaw-filled federal app to find relief
- 'I don’t have a high level of confidence': Mark Kelly talks about Title 42 immigration issues and more in exclusive sit-down
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