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Sinema talks migrant health care in Somerton

KAWC | By Victor Calderón
Published February 23, 2022 at 4:34 PM MST
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, right, speaks with officials from the Regional Center for Border Health and Yuma Regional Medical Center at RCBH in Somerton on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. On the left is RCBH President and CEO Amanda Aguirre.
Victor Calderón/KAWC
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, right, speaks with officials from the Regional Center for Border Health and Yuma Regional Medical Center at RCBH in Somerton on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. On the left is RCBH President and CEO Amanda Aguirre.

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema hosted a roundtable Wednesday in Somerton with officials from the Regional Center for Border Health and Yuma Regional Medical Center to discuss the challenges they are facing in serving migrants brought to them by Border Patrol agents.

RCBH has been providing COVID-19 testing and vaccines for migrants in cooperation with the U.S. Border Patrol. RCBH President and CEO Amanda Aguirre said following testing about 300 migrants per day are driven by bus to Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and migrant shelters in Arizona and California. Only about two percent of migrants test positive for COVID and have to quarantine here.

“We hope the Senator and other dignitaries that have been looking at the border and coming to visit with us understand the complexity of the situation that we’re in and help us to address the issue of the migrants’ migration,” Aguirre said.

While in Yuma County, Sinema also met with Border Patrol officials and area ag leaders.

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Stay tuned to KAWC for more coverage from Sinema's visit to Yuma County.

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Victor Calderón
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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