Southern border receives military backup by Department of Defense
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Over 6,000 troops and personnel have been sent to the border for more security by the Department of Defense.
This includes the Roosevelt Reservation, which is a 60-foot-strip stretching over 600 miles through Arizona, California, and New Mexico.
170 miles of the land in New Mexico has been transferred to the DOD.
Local Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Justin De La Torre sharing on Wednesday how beneficial it is to have military backup.
“Now we’re actually able to deploy those soldiers out to remote stretches of the border and they’re bringing technology with them in areas where we previously did not have technology,” Chief De La Torre says.
Yuma County Board of Supervisor Tony Reyes feels this much support is excessive.
“If you dare to do something that is related to national security, that makes some sense, but if it’s there to help with illegal immigration, let me tell you: There isn’t much to help with so to me this is just overkill,” Reyes said.
While fellow Board of Supervisor Jonathan Lines is in favor of the military presence.
“I think that anytime we can augment those numbers, it serves as more of a deterrent to the cartels and to people who would be the bad actors pushing people and narcotics into the United States,” Lines says.
According to the CBP website, around around 11,000 migrant encounters were recorded in March of this year, which is below the 189,359 number from last year.