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U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on Friday that work is underway to replace 26 miles of aging and outdated primary fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector, which has seen huge increases in the number of migrant families illegally crossing into the country.

Agent Jose Garibay, of the Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, explained that the project consists of crews removing a segment of the 14-foot-tall corrugated metal fences built from Vietnam War-era landing mats that is east of the San Luis port of entry, and installing 30-foot tall bollard-style fencing.

Bollards are upright steel posts, with Garibay saying that it will be high enough to discourage migrants from scaling over it, and has reinforced concrete footers at the base of the bollards to prevent smugglers from burrowing underneath it.

“It is a lot better than what we have out there now,” Garibay said. “It will allow for a lot more situational awareness because agents will be able to see what’s across the border.”

The U.S. Army awarded Barnard Construction Co. of Bozeman, Montana, the contract to build the fence. Garibay said new fence is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. Construction actually began earlier this month.

In the past few months, Yuma Sector Border Patrol has released numerous videos and photos of groups of migrants scaling old antiquated fencing in San Luis using ladders, or burrowing under it. In January, 376 migrants, the largest group ever detected, dug holes in the sand under the fence to enter the country.

The 26-mile segment of fencing in the Yuma Sector is the first of six segments of older fencing along Arizona’s 372-mile-long border to be replaced this year so far. Garibay added that more projects are likely to be announced in the coming months.

The southern border is nearly 2,000 miles long and already has about 650 miles of different types of barriers, including short vehicle barricades and tall, steel fences.

Most of the fencing was built during the administration of then President George W. Bush, and there have been updates and maintenance throughout other administrations.

by Mara Knaub

Yuma Sun

1 May 2019

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After meeting with President Donald Trump, Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said a solution to the “humanitarian crisis” in Yuma might come in the form of more buses to move migrants to their destinations.

Nicholls is in Washington, D.C., this week visiting federal officials to talk about issues affecting Yuma. On Tuesday he met with Trump and acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan in the Oval Office to discuss the security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border.

Judd Deere of the president’s press office noted that “Mayor Nicholls discussed the immediate need for Congress to act to address the ongoing crisis and thanked the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security for their steadfast work.

“The president and the mayor discussed the importance of continuing the strong federal-state-local collaboration, and both praised the critical work of Gov. Doug Ducey,” Deere said.

“In discussions with President Trump and Secretary McAleenan, I expressed the transportation struggles with the migrant situation and it appears we have a solution in the making by adding more buses,” Nicholls told the Yuma Sun.

On April 16, Nicholls declared a local emergency, citing the crisis at the border and the lack of federal resources to accommodate the influx of migrants into Yuma. The proclamation of emergency notes that a “humanitarian crisis” is being caused by the “mass release of migrant families from federal detention into the city of Yuma without provisions of adequate food, water, shelter and medical care.”

The majority of migrants are families seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing poverty and gang violence in Central America.

According to the most recent data, provided by the President’s press office, the Border Patrol has seen a 374% increase in the number of migrant families arriving at the border compared to the same period last year, from 39,975 to 189,584.

In the Border Patrol’s Yuma sector, apprehensions of migrant families have increased 273% so far this fiscal year, from 6,487 to 24,194, the data shows.

The mayor noted that the migrants being housed in the shelter network run by local nonprofits has “far exceeded the capacity” even as families are being transported out of the community. He explained that the migrants, who are all families who have passed health and criminal checks, “are looking to go to their host families. They aren’t looking to stay in Yuma.”

With the proclamation, Nicholls said he hoped to bring the situation in Yuma to the attention of the federal government with the hope that it would “step in to help resolve the situation in a couple ways, either through transportation options into other communities that actually provide relief to the numbers coming into Yuma or bringing in a FEMA-type response to our community so FEMA and the federal government in their response could address the situation.”

On Tuesday, Nicholls also discussed with President Trump the importance of Congress passing the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement in the near future. The USMCA is set to replace the 25-yearold North American Free Trade Agreement.

During the forum called “NAFTA 2.0: The Impact of USMCA on the Megaregion” held April 23 in Yuma, the mayor urged attendees to encourage their congressional representatives to approve the trade agreement.

“The meetings today went very well and I expect tomorrow’s meetings to continue to be productive,” Nicholls said Tuesday night.

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about the yuma daily sun

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