Border communities in Yuma County will receive several million dollars in state funding for the enhancement of post Title-42 border security.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs made the announcement Friday afternoon during a press conference at Somerton City Hall in south Yuma County.
“I am pleased to announce grant awards totaling over $25 million to the cities of Somerton, Yuma, Wellton and the Cocopah Indian tribe, from the state's Border Security Fund,” Gov. Hobbs said. “This funding will allow these cities to invest in meaningful technological support and ensure they have the tools needed to effectively manage the border.”
Somerton Mayor Gerardo Anaya told KAWC that the grant funding accounts for the specific needs of each community.
“They asked our public safety departments what was needed and they listened to us,” Mayor Anaya said. “So, [the] funding is tailored to each community.”
The Cocopah Tribe, which has land along the international border, will receive funding to replace aging police vehicles, said Cocopah Public Safety Director Paul De Anda.
“They're getting older and they take a beating,” De Anda said. “We have 14 miles of border that we patrol and it's all on the levee. It's the main crossing point for all the undocumented people coming across.”
Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls told KAWC that Hobbs has created a working relationship with local communities to tackle border security issues.
“She's been very engaged on these issues," Mayor Nicholls said. "You know, perspectives are a little different. But within her first hundred days, she made sure she came here, which was a promise she made to me after she got elected.”
During her visit to Yuma County, Gov. Hobbs also visited the Yuma Sector Border Patrol Station, to see how undocumented migrants are processed. She met with Yuma Sector Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle and officials including San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel and Arizona Rep. Mariana Sandoval.
Hobbs said the border community funds will be used to upgrade communications equipment, expand vehicle fleets and hire additional personnel.
Local law enforcement leaders who also thanked the governor for the funding included Somerton Police Chief Araceli Juarez, Yuma Police Chief Thomas Garrity and Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot.
Mayor Anaya said that, according to the Somerton Historical Society, an Arizona governor had not visited Somerton since 1919. Gov. Hobbs met with officials at Campesinos Sin Fronteras, which serves farmworkers and low-income families, and toured the Regional Center for Border Health's migrant transfer center in Somerton this past Feb. 27.
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KAWC's Victor Calderón contributed to this report.
