XPost: misc.immigration.usa, alt.politics.democrats, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs pressed the Biden administration Friday to shift   
   resources to reopen the shuttered Lukeville Port of Entry, and dedicated   
   millions in federal funding to support the state's response to the influx   
   of people crossing the southern border.   
      
   Hobbs plans to visit the Lukeville crossing Saturday with Adjutant General   
   Kerry Muehlenbeck, who leads the Arizona National Guard and state   
   emergency response office. While there are no National Guard troops   
   currently supporting border communities under Hobbs' orders, the governor   
   said Friday that could change.   
      
   That visit is to "see, on the ground, what's going on and how we can best   
   support" and "see if perhaps there's a mission for the Guard," Hobbs told   
   reporters after a ribbon cutting for a Habitat for Humanity Central   
   Arizona construction training program.   
      
   Hobbs' administration announced it would spend up to $5 million for the   
   Arizona National Guard to support the state Department of Public Safety   
   and local agencies along the border with fentanyl interdiction efforts and   
   other tasks.   
      
   'Dropping it pretty soon':Arizona GOP leader poised to sue Hobbs on agency   
   confirmations   
      
   In a letter, Hobbs asked President Joe Biden to shift some of the 243   
   members of the National Guard working on federal orders in the Tucson   
   sector to reopen the Lukeville port. She called on the Biden   
   administration to send additional Guard members to assist if necessary.   
      
   The recent surge in migrants "is absolutely straining our capacity, which   
   is why we have continued to talk to the feds about the need for additional   
   support," Hobbs said, taking aim at inaction from federal officials when   
   it comes to addressing the border. "And again, I'll share my continued   
   frustration at this situation and their lack of response that's costing   
   the state of Arizona taxpayers."   
      
   National Guard troops can serve on the orders of Hobbs or the president.   
   Because immigration and border enforcement is a federal government   
   responsibility, soldiers can only do the duties of Customs and Border   
   Protection such as reopening the port if they are called up by the   
   president, according to Hobbs' office.   
      
   Hobbs requested the federal government repay the state over $500 million   
   it has spent from a dedicated Border Security Fund created in 2021 by   
   Republicans in the Legislature and signed into law by her predecessor,   
   Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. That law requires Arizona's governor to   
   request reimbursement from the federal government. Hobbs asked the money   
   be repaid to cover the state's costs to transport migrants from the   
   border, interdict drugs and support law enforcement.   
      
   The state will also dedicate $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act,   
   a Biden-approved COVID-19 relief program, to staff a new border security   
   office within the state Department of Homeland Security.   
      
   That office will help local, state and federal agencies working at the   
   border communicate, according to Hobbs' spokesperson Christian Slater.   
   Hobbs announced a similar communication effort in May, prior to the   
   federal government ending a public health policy called Title 42 that was   
   used to turn away migrants. Slater said the new border security office   
   would be more proactive about border issues and more robust because of the   
   funding that will allow it to hire dedicated staff.   
      
   That funding will keep the office open for a year. Slater would not say   
   whether Hobbs would push to make it a permanent office, saying he would   
   "wait until the executive budget comes out to speak to that.”   
      
   Hobbs will debut a budget proposal in early January. Should it include   
   border-related funding, the proposal might give the Democratic governor   
   some common ground with Republicans, who make up the majority in both   
   chambers of the Legislature.   
      
   The Lukeville Port of Entry is about 115 miles south of Phoenix and one of   
   six crossings between Arizona and Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border   
   Protection closed the port Monday impacting pedestrians and vehicle   
   traffic along State Route 85, a key trade and tourism route. It is the   
   main road from Phoenix and Tucson to the beach town of Puerto Peñasco,   
   Sonora, also known as Rocky Point.   
      
   Federal immigration officials said officers at Lukeville were being   
   reassigned to help U.S. Border Patrol agents process migrants. Since the   
   summer, thousands of migrants have crossed the Arizona-Mexico border daily   
   in the areas near Lukeville, such as Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument   
   and the Tohono O'Odham Nation.   
      
   That influx of migrants, most of whom wait to be picked up and claim   
   asylum, has taxed federal immigration resources. The Border Patrol began   
   releasing asylum seekers into southern Arizona communities in mid-   
   September, prompting local governments and nonprofits to step in to   
   provide those people with resources like transportation or shelter.   
      
   Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com   
   or 480-416-5669.   
      
   https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2023/12/08/hobbs-   
   spend-millions-border-security-lukeville-migrant-closure/71855402007/   
      
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