PHOENIX — There are signs the number of undocumented migrants crossing into Arizona may be coming down.
On Wednesday, Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls told KTAR's Gaydos and Chad Show, "we are seeing a drop in numbers we haven't seen in quite a while," the mayor said. "No exactly sure as we speak, but the last three weeks the numbers have been down."
Republican lawmakers at the state legislature say Arizona is at the center of a public health and safety crisis along the border.
In the view of state officials, it has become a major highway for illegal fentanyl coming from Mexico to cities across the U.S.
In 2021, the Border Strike Force seized 985 pounds of fentanyl, which was up from the 284 pounds it seized in 2020.
"They actually were able to stop most of what they could. It shifted toward Texas. That's why Texas is having a big crisis, now Texas is locking it down and they're coming back west," Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli said.
Borrelli joined other Republicans at the Capitol Rose Garden Thursday to call for spending more money to beef up the state police's border strike force as well as fund local law enforcement and drug treatment services.
"Governor Hobbs has stated that she agrees that this is a crisis, but her actions in getting border-related funding to law enforcement say otherwise.
It's unacceptable," said State Representative Steve Montenegro, the chair of the House Health and Human Services Committee.
Governor Katie Hobbs' budget redirects more than $12 million in funding from the border strike force to local border communities and law enforcement.
When she released her plan, the governor said it was the start of negotiations with Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
Her door is open for talks, Hobbs said, but Republicans aren't buying the offer.
"The devil would be in the details," Pinal County State Senator T.J. Shope said, "I never met a governor that just lets you knock on the door."
