Elected officials representing Yuma and Arizona whether they're Democrat, Republican or Independent agree that the border and immigration need help.
How to get there has long been an unsolved issue in Washington.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan border package that was intended to decrease record numbers of illegal border crossings.
Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema gave a fiery speech on the Senate floor in which she said the bill was a bipartisan effort worked on in good faith.
"Less than 24 hours after we released the bill, my Republican colleagues changed their minds," Sen. Sinema said. "Turns out, they want all talk and no action."
Many political analysts say it appears Republicans do not want to pass any legislation on the border in an election year. Sinema said she has had enough.
"I have a very clear message for anyone using the southern border for staged political events: don’t come to Arizona," she said. "Take your political theater to Texas. Do not bring it to my state. In Arizona, we’re serious. We don’t have time for your political games. We are not interested in you posing for the cameras."
In recent years, local Republican elected officials including Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot and Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines have welcomed elected officials and political candidates, mostly Republican, to Yuma for border tours.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who has visited the border often, said in a released statement that the bill was a first step in the right direction.
“After decades of neglect, Congress has a real opportunity to address the growing humanitarian crisis impacting Arizona and other border communities," Sen. Kelly said. "As a border senator, my state desperately needs additional resources and solutions to ensure an orderly, fair and secure process at the border and I will review this agreement closely."
U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva is one of the progressive Democrats who said the proposed bill did not go far enough.
In a released statement, Congressman Grijalva said “The Senate missed an opportunity to create thoughtful and lasting immigration reform and to confront and humanely manage our humanitarian crisis at the border. Instead, the bill doubles down on punitive measures that read like an extreme Republican wish list filled with failed Trump-era immigration policies.”
“The bill lacks any legal pathways to deal with the status of Dreamers, farm workers, or undocumented individuals who have been vital members of our communities for decades," Grijalva continued. "I’m disappointed that time has been wasted on what could have been a productive attempt to create real immigration reform.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar said the bill was "complete rubbish" and a "travesty."
In a released statement, Gosar said "Not only does it not close the southern border, but it makes it worse by permitting 5,000 illegal aliens to cross the border each day, greenlighting more than 1.85 million more lawbreakers into the United States annually... This is the worst bill in Congress in a decade and that is saying a lot."
