Socked by an explosion of illegal border crossings and a surge in COVID-19 cases due, in part, to infected migrants, a top Arizona official is urging Washington to fix the crisis before it is “too late.”
In an urgent appeal to the Department of Homeland Security that echoes others from neighboring states, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich pressed Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to seal up the border before the situation gets worse.
In his two-page letter, he warned about coronavirus cases in the state but also said the human crossings are diverting attention away from the surge in drugs crossing the border, left unchecked because border officials are too busy catching, documenting, and then releasing illegal immigrants.
“This border crisis is much more than the migrants who are apprehended,” said Brnovich in a letter shared with Secrets. “These cartels are creating many diversions for our border agents every day in order to run drugs and ‘gotaways’ through gaps in the border,” he added.
His plea came as U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced a historic seizure of 2.8 tons of methamphetamine and fentanyl on the California border. It was hidden in a shipment of household articles. Customs said it had a value of nearly $13 million.
The concerns in Brnovich’s letter have been heard from other border officials, especially those in Texas and Arizona. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, in fact, is so mad he has introduced a measure to impeach Mayorkas.
Brnovich, running for the Senate GOP nomination in his state, has been hot about the border ever since President Joe Biden opened it after taking office.
He said that in just six months, a border that was under control under former President Donald Trump is a danger zone.
In his letter, he wrote, “Secretary Mayorkas, we have no higher calling as members of the executive branch — whether federal or state — to faithfully enforce the laws of our jurisdiction and to provide for the safety and security of our citizens.”
But he said Biden’s policies aren’t doing that. “I call on your department to reverse course before it is too late for our nation,” he wrote.
