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Republican state attorneys general in Yuma for border visit: 'every state is a border state'

Members of the Republican Attorneys General Association speak at the border in Yuma County on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
Victor Calderón/KAWC
Members of the Republican Attorneys General Association speak at the border in Yuma County on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

Eleven state attorneys general were the latest Republican group to visit a popular section of border fence in Yuma County to thank Trump and blame former President Joe Biden for the need to continue securing the southern border.

On a warm Wednesday morning, the attorneys general from Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah met with local law enforcement and elected officials before meeting with reporters.

The main points from the Republican Attorneys General Association press conference were that, as they said, under former President Biden, every state was a border state as migrants and drugs crossed the border and the change to Trump is making America safe again.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, was not with the RAGA group in Yuma. Attorney General Mayes renewed her call for the Trump administration to send federal resources for the border.

In a released statement, Mayes said "Out of state Republican attorneys general and Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen can travel to the border for meaningless photo-ops all they want—but until local and state law enforcement is given the resources they need to prosecute the criminals responsible for drug trafficking, Arizonans will continue to pay the price.”

Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot met with the attorneys general at the border. Sheriff Wilmot said that although numbers of migrants are way down from past years, the need to secure the border remains strong.

He met with Attorney General Mayes, last week when she was in Yuma. Sheriff Wilmot told me what he and Mayes discussed.

"My message to her… public safety, homeland security, humanitarian (efforts) are what our sheriffs are concentrating on," Wilmot said. "It’s not about politics, it’s about public safety. We need to start working more with our legislators and educating them because a lot of times they come up with bills without talking to law enforcement."

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Stay tuned to KAWC for more from the Republican attorneys general visit to Yuma and what Arizona AG Mayes says she is doing to address drug trafficking at the border.

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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