© Provided by Washington Examiner Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrats, called on the Biden administration Wednesday to fund the deployment of the National Guard members that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will send to the Southern border.
The language is notable because President Joe Biden's administration has been hesitant to label the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in that way.
Ducey, a Republican, announced Tuesday he would send an additional 250 Arizona National Guard members to the U.S.- Mexico border to help local law enforcement efforts as increases in migration numbers continue to overwhelm border facilities and local communities.
"There is a crisis at the southern border," Sinema and Kelly said in a joint statement.
"As such, we request you reimburse the state of Arizona for the deployment the Governor announced yesterday to support border security and continue to increase DHS personnel who can further assist with the processing of migrants, securing the border, and executing important security missions," the senators said. "We stand ready to work with you to support our border communities, secure the border, prevent the spread of COVID-19, and treat all migrants and unaccompanied children fairly and humanely."
NEARLY 150 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DISCOVERED BY BORDER PATROL INSIDE TRACTOR-TRAILER
Kelly and Sinema previously sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking him for additional resources to assist on the border.
Both lawmakers say the financial responsibility to secure the Arizona border communities should not be left only to their state and a reimbursement for the deployment of National Guard members to Arizona's border that it shares with Mexico to support security efforts is necessary.
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In their letter, both lawmakers write, "While additional resources were passed in the American Rescue Plan provided by FEMA and DHS, additional personnel are needed at the border to ensure our communities are protected, and migrants are treated fairly and humanely. This need for a secure and orderly process at the U.S. southern border should not fall on the state of Arizona or the Arizona border communities."
Tags: News, Immigration, Arizona, Senate, Mark Kelly, Kyrsten Sinema
Original Author: Kerry Picket
Original Location: Arizona Democratic senators lament southern border 'crisis'