YCSO calls on federal government to pay fair share of incarcerations Published
Statement says locals have paid more than $2 million to house accused drug smugglers after declined prosecutions
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Yuma County Sheriff s Office (YCSO) is appealing to the federal government to start paying its fair share for the incarceration of undocumented immigrants.
YCSO released a statement Thursday citing the high cost of housing accused drug smugglers in the Yuma County Detention Center (YCDC). Internal records show, it cost more than $2 million for deputies to feed and house the 293 accused marijuana mules brought to the YCDC by U.S. Border Patrol and ICE between 2015 and 2018.
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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on what his state of emergency declaration and activation of Arizona National Guard troops means for Yuma County.
Ducey said he wanted to see firsthand what he says is a security and humanitarian crisis at the border and to call out the Biden Administration for its “failed leadership.”
The governor met with Yuma Sector Border Patrol officials and was joined by elected officials and border sheriffs.
“We will be sending up to 250 of our best women and men to our border communities, including here in Yuma, Ducey said in front of a section of border fence west of Yuma. They’ll be able to provide logistical, field and operational support to Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot and his team.”
3:13 Not only do we have a crisis, it s also catastrophic in nature, Sheriff Wilmot said. And he says it started as soon as Biden signed executive orders in February, rolling back Trump-era policies at the border.
As a result, it has had a significant impact on the resources and how border patrol agents perform, said Wilmot. They [ Yuma Sector Border Patrol] had over 250 unaccompanied juveniles just in the Yuma Sector itself.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) is the agency to handle illegal apprehensions at the border but Sheriff Wilmot said the Biden Administration diluted the agency, handing down the responsibilities to the Border Patrol.
Once in the U.S., they are boarding buses and trains. If they have the money, they are boarding airplanes along with the general public and spreading out to neighborhoods across the country.
One sheriff said people released into his county are destined for Florida, California, South Carolina, New York and Houston. Another sheriff lists Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia as destinations he has heard.
“It’s a health pandemic, and now they’re being released into our area. They have no money, they have no vouchers,” said Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels. “Literally, they’re just dropping them in places where they feel they have the best ability to navigate from these border communities deeper into the United States.
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