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U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham: Yuma Sector Could Become Overcrowded With Migrants Like Del Rio, Tex.

Victor Calderón/KAWC
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks with reporters after meeting with Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls and community leaders at Yuma City Hall on Oct. 11, 2021.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said the unusually large number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas last month could be the scene in Yuma during a visit here . 

Sen. Graham visited the border near San Luis on Monday and met with Border Patrol officials before coming to Yuma City Hall where he met with Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls and non-profit officials from groups including Catholic Community Services, the Regional Center for Border Health and the Yuma Community Food Bank.

Graham has also visited the border in Nogales, Ariz. and in Texas. He said if the asylum system doesn’t change, the border near Yuma and San Luis will be overrun with migrants as was the case recently in one sector in Texas.

“The bottom line is this," Graham said. "If things don’t change, the Yuma Sector is going to become Del Rio, Texas and there’s no reason for that to happen.” 

Del Rio was in the national spotlight as thousands of migrants, mostly from Haiti, converged there under a bridge on the border.

Graham and other Republicans have said the Biden Administration’s failed policies are to blame for the high number of migrants at the border. Newsweek reports border officials encountered more than 1.5 million migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border from October 2020 to August of this year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. By comparison, border officials encountered about 458,000 migrants from October 2019 to September 2020, CBP data showed.  There was also a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied minors. 

Victor is originally from West Sacramento, California and has lived in Arizona for more than five years. He began his print journalism career in 2004 following his graduation from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Victor has been a reporter for the following daily newspapers: The Monterey County Herald, The Salinas Californian and the Reno Gazette-Journal, where he covered stories including agriculture, education and Latino community news. Victor has also served as a local editor for Patch, a national news organization with hyperlocal websites, in Carmichael, California in the Sacramento area. He also served as the editor for The New Vision, the newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, which includes Yuma and La Paz counties. Victor lives in Somerton. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends and following most sports.
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