TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Katie Hobbs took the podium at the Nogales Port of Entry on Tuesday. It was her third visit to the border since taking office.
“We need to work together to address the flow of drugs across our state, local, tribal and international borders,” she said.
Hobbs said last year over 1,700 Arizonans died because of opioids and said most of those cases were from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
“In recent years Arizona has taken major steps to prioritize access to information, tools for harm reduction and substance abuse treatment,” Hobbs said.
The governor said she is hoping to work with Mexico’s government to secure the ports of entry.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security was also in attendance. He said the amount of fentanyl they’re taking at the border has increased.
Nationwide, Secretary Mayorkas said they’ve taken more fentanyl in the last two years than the past five years combined. He said in that same time period, that’s also the case with the amount of people they’ve arrested connected to fentanyl crimes.
Secretary Mayorkas said DHS’s Operation Blue Lotus has a goal of stopping fentanyl from crossing into the nation.
“In its first week, Operation Blue Lotus has already resulted in 18 seizures, 16 federal arrests and 2 state arrests,” Mayorkas said.
He said they’ve also taken over 100 pounds of coke, 900 pounds of fentanyl and over 700 pounds of methanphetamine through the operation.
Jorge Maldonado, the mayor of Nogales, Arizona said in order to tackle the drug crisis in Arizona, more technology like x-ray machines are needed at the border.
“Anything that can be seen in the truck. Drugs, bundles, illegal people involved,” Maldonado said about the things he’s hoping the machines would catch.
Mayorkas said the U.S. is investing more in technology.
As for migrants crossing into Arizona illegally, Hobbs and Mayorkas addressed Title 42, which allows the government to send migrants back to their country if they come illegally and puts stricter rules on those seeking asylum because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Title 42 is set to end on May 11.
Mayorkas says they have a six step plan they created in September of 2021 and revised last April that addresses crime, personnel, transportation, and resources.
In order to process applications, Mayorkas said they’re using the CBP One app, which is a phone app that can be used by people who are looking for asylum. He said they’re using the app to process more than 700 people a day who have an exemption from Title 42.
He’s also hoping Congress will pass laws towards building a more structured immigration process.
“The model is to build safe, legal and orderly pathways and to deliver a consequence for those who do not avail themselves of the pathway,” he said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.