On April 16, 2016, Yuma, Arizona Mayor Doug Nicholls issued a state of emergency for his city. During a press conference, Nicholls maintained Yuma’s residents and their property were facing an “imminent threat” resulting from the mass release of illegal aliens into the border municipality according to TheBlaze. The Mayor contended that the city’s resources simply weren’t adequate enough to deal with the significant number of migrants arriving.
In a statement, Nicholls remarked, “Migrants continue to be released at a rate that cannot be sustained, overwhelming the current non-profit shelter system.”
TheBlaze reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection released no less than 1,300 illegal immigrants into the local non-profit shelter over a three-week span. However, the shelter only has the maximum capacity to house 150 to 200 individuals. The Mayor said the building has exceeded its ability to house and provide basic human needs to the migrants.
“Today is a day that we had talked about three weeks ago, hoping never to get to,” Nicholls added. “Throughout the country we are in a position that needs to be rectified on a national level, not just within the resources of our Yuma community, to avert the threat of hundreds of people roaming the streets looking to satisfy basic human needs in our community and not having the resources to do so and the reaction of the citizens of Yuma looking to protect their property and way of life.”
Unbelievably, Nicholls got a call from Border patrol officials on the same day he issued the state of emergency. During the conversation, the Mayor was told CPB would release 120 more illegal immigrants in Yuma that very day.
Nicholls said, “We need to make sure that our community is maintained and that the human rights of all the migrants are also maintained and that we have a path forward that respects both.”
Reportedly, several of the migrant families residing at the non-profit shelter were waiting on transportation to other areas of the country. The Mayor stated, “The transportation network is just insufficient to keep up with demand. And the backlog of people staying at the shelter has created this capacity issue.”
The Arizona city hopes the state of emergency will bring needed national attention to principalities currently in the throes of the immigrant crises. According to TheBlaze, on April 16, CBP was holding a minimum of 950 illegal aliens, most of whom were families, at its Yuma detention center. The next day, agents detained at least 400 more.
Citing Nicholls’ state of emergency, Vice President Mike Pence wrote an op-ed regarding the border crises for Fox News on April 19. Pence mentioned a recent meeting with individuals at Customs and Border Protection in Nogales, Arizona.
“As those brave officers told me, we have a real crisis on our hands, and what’s driving it is the loopholes in our immigration laws that Congress has refused to close,” Pence said. “This crisis is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Nearly 3,000 aliens are stopped trying to cross our southern border each day. In the last six months alone, Customs and Border Protection has apprehended more than 360,000 aliens – close to the total number apprehended in all of fiscal year 2018.”
Referring to the vast number of families and minors showing up at America’s border, the Vice President said, “These vulnerable people face incredible danger from the criminal smugglers who ferry them to our southern border. Nearly 70 percent of illegal immigrants report being victims of violence, and Doctors Without Borders reports that nearly one-third of women are sexually assaulted.”
He went on to add, “This crisis is threatening lives on both sides of the border – and to end it, Congress must act to close the loopholes that drug cartels and human traffickers use to entice vulnerable families to make the long and dangerous journey north to our southern border.”
~ Patriotic Freedom Fighter
