TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — One of Arizona’s Democratic Senators has teamed up with a Republican Senator from Texas to try to solve immigrations problems.
Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn toured two facilities housing migrants in Tucson Tuesday.
According to Sinema she and Cornyn received a tour of the "soft-sided facility" in Tucson that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is using to house migrants apprehended by Border Patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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After that, Cornyn and Sinema visited and toured Casa Alitas -- a shelter that houses and helps migrants who have recently crossed the border and those who were recently released from CBP custody. They toured Casa Alitas and received "a briefing from Casa Alitas staff on the challenges facing non-governmental organizations during the current border crisis," according to information from Sinema's press office.
Senators Kyrsten Sinema and John Cornyn say they can’t solve all the immigration problems that have mounted up for many years but they think their two-party approach is a start.
Senator Sinema says, “Both John and I are committed to finding reasonable practical, and most importantly implementable solutions to help reduce the strain that this crisis has caused on both of our states and communities.”
But implementable has always been the challenge, with immigration a polarizing, politicized and emotional issue.
Sinema says, “There are unfortunately many people who have chosen to use immigration as a tool to score political points, but I think John and I both have demonstrated a long time record of caring deeply about the issue because it is our home. It is our community. As border state senators, this is our life.”
Senator Cornyn says, “We can’t quit trying. I do think it's important for us to deal with confidence among ourselves, and with the American people that we can actually put forward a bipartisan, bicameral bill and actually make some incremental progress.“
Their shared bill would try to ease the strain on the immigration system with Regional Processing Centers, Improved Immigration Hearings, More Immigration Judges and Staff, More Access to Lawyers for immigrants and better protection for Unaccompanied Children.
The two Senators toured Border Patrol’s new Tucson facility to house young migrants and said it is an improvement over other ways children have been housed.
As for how to pass a bill on a sensitive topic, Senator Sinema says Senator Cornyn has enough respect among his Republican colleagues that the two-party approach to the bill has more chance to pass.
