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Border and Immigration

Border Patrol process hundreds of migrants on Dec. 5, 2023. Many are from African countries — Senegal, Guinea and Mauritania — and a smaller number are from India and Central and South America. Many say they came through a cut in the border wall.

Ongoing surge of migrants renews concerns of overnight street releases

Dec 11, 2023 Pima County’s Casa Alitas assisted a record number of migrants in November — nearly 34,000. The surge is depleting resources faster than expected — sustaining fears of migrants being unsheltered in cities overnight.
Migrants wait to be processed by border patrol outside of Lukeville, Arizona, on Dec. 5, 2023.

Hobbs to launch office to coordinate border security, asks feds for $500 million reimbursement

Dec 8, 2023 Gov. Katie Hobbs urges the Biden administration to deploy National Guard to reopen Lukeville port of entry, establishes an office for coordinated border efforts and seeks reimbursement for border operation expenses.
The Lukeville port of entry lay empty on Dec. 5, 2023, a day after the federal government closed the direct route to Rocky Point in order to move personnel to help with a surge of migrants.

Rocky Point residents say it’s a ghost town after port closure

Dec 8, 2023 The closure of the Lukeville port of entry has turned Rocky Point into a ghost town, causing businesses to shutter, locals to lose their jobs, and uncertainty to loom over the community's economic future.
Border Patrol process hundreds of migrants on Dec. 5, 2023. Many are from African countries — Senegal, Guinea and Mauritania — and a smaller number are from India and Central and South America. Many say they came through a cut in the border wall.

Migrants wait days in desert as Tucson Sector numbers increase

Dec 6, 2023 As the Tucson Sector continues to be the busiest region on the U.S.-Mexico border, officials must prioritize processing families and children while hundreds of single men wait for days after climbing through cuts in the border wall.
Alvina Martinez and her 9-year-old daughter walk out of Casa Alitas, a shelter for immigrants run by Catholic Community Services, on Thursday, November 1, 2018. The pair are seeking asylum from Guatemala.

Record numbers and funding change could lead to migrant street releases in Pima County

Dec 4, 2023 As the number of migrants continues to surge at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, Pima County worries whether they’ll keep up, serving well over 1,000 people a day for weeks.
Border Patrol processing migrants who crossed the border outside of Lukeville, Arizona, in May 2023.

Officials to close Lukeville/Sonoyita border crossing due migrant surge

Dec 1, 2023 Lukeville port's temporary closure due to a migrant surge raises travel and economic concerns in Arizona, prompting officials to urge swift federal action.
Late afternoon under the tree canopy near the Boyce Thompson picnic area. Boyce Thompson Arboretum by Bruce McGrew, c. 1980. Watercolor, 22 in. x 30 in.

Celebrating a unique vision with "Bruce McGrew: Continuum".

Nov 22, 2023 Also on Arizona Spotlight: How Prop 308 made higher education attainable for undocumented students; and why Kidz At Play is not a rap group.

40 years of Gould’s turkey restoration success in the Sky Islands

Nov 20, 2023 From local extinction to Thanksgiving triumph, the journey of North America’s largest wild turkey species in Arizona’s southeastern mountains
Lockers at the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office contain belongings recovered alongside migrants who died in the desert. Death investigators use the items to help determine the person’s identity, and return their remains to family.

New report finds Pima County Sheriff’s Department has history of not responding to calls from lost migrants

Nov 20, 2023 Advocacy group No More Deaths found that the sheriff’s department handled distress calls based on perceived immigration status. Sheriff Nanos disputes the findings, says whether calls are transferred to Border Patrol is based purely on proximity.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved more than 6.6 million people to be citizens in the last decade.

New report finds immigrant contributions in the state in the billions

Nov 15, 2023 A new report by the American Immigration Council found that immigrants contribute more than $26 billion annually to the state’s economy, including more than $5 billion from undocumented immigrants.

Tucson Sector sets new record for fentanyl seizures

Nov 14, 2023 In October, Border Patrol's Tucson Sector set a new monthly record for fentanyl seizures, surpassing 220 pounds.
Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin tweeted photos of Border Patrol processing a group of about 1,000 migrants near San Miguel, on the Tohono O'odham Nation.

Tucson Sector continues to see migrant surge

Nov 14, 2023 While the sector continues to be the busiest in the nation, federal and local authorities are able to manage the influx.
View of the San Pedro Valley from Montezuma Pass in Coronado National Memorial, on Wednesday, Oct. 18.

Reviving Montezuma Pass: Sky Island Alliance's bold initiative to rewild decommissioned roads

Nov 11, 2023 From roads to rivers: volunteers unite to transform old paths into thriving wildlife corridors
Arizona state Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, said that in 30 years of living near the border, he has not seen immigration as bad as he says it is today. Gowan was in Washington to meet with federal lawmakers on the issue.

Gowan, other officials go to Washington to plead for border action

Nov 10, 2023 The event comes at a time when migrant encounters at the southern border have reached historic highs.

Environmental groups raise concerns over proposed border road impact on endangered jaguars and critical habitat

Nov 8, 2023 Environmental groups say they want no new construction, in response to a proposed border road and its potential impact on endangered jaguars and other endangered and threatened species.

School bus driver charged for allegedly smuggling migrants

Nov 7, 2023 Border Patrol agents arrested a school bus driver last week accused of using a school bus to pick up unauthorized migrants.

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