State attorneys general hold press conference at southern border in Yuma County
Marcos Icahuate
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Several attorneys general visited the border in Yuma to see the results of the immigration policies put in place by President Donald Trump.
The 11 attorneys general are part of the Republican Attorneys General Association.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach says every state is a border state and enforcing immigration laws has also helped in the fight against fentanyl and human trafficking.
“Now the word has gotten out that you are going to be turned around, so it’s not that we don’t need interior enforcement, it’s that the interior enforcement is what cause the slow down at the border,” said Kobach.
Enforcing immigration laws has brought down the migrant apprehensions from 1,500 to only four a day, but the attorneys general say there’s still more work to be done to cover gaps along the border.
“They only have to be right one time in order to cause mass destruction and complete chaos in this country. The good guys, us, we have to be right every time and people don’t want to invest in this until something bad happens. I would rather invest in this to prevent something bad to happen,” said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.
Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes says the cooperation between state, local and federal law enforcement is key to having safer communities.
“It’s estimated that 500 thousand criminal aliens are free in this country right now. We got to partner with the federal government, we got to for coalitions networks local in the communities to find those people and get them out of the country,” explained Sheriff Rhodes.
“Finish the infrastructure that the Trump team put in effect the first time…that would be the first step and added elements to that infrastructure, turning cameras back on energizing the rest of the observation system that it is along the border,” said Yuma County Board of Supervisors Vice-Chairman Jonathan Lines.
The attorneys general say they will continue working together along with the federal government to bring down the number of undocumented crossings from four to zero.
You can watch a livestream of the press conference here: