Arizona Governor Doug Ducey urges US President Biden to act as migrant crisis escalates

As the migrant crisis along southwestern Arizona continues to escalate, the Republican governor of the state, Doug Ducey, urged US President Joe Biden to "do something" about it. Speaking at a presser during his visit to Yuma on Tuesday, Ducey underlined that as per official data there were an estimated 5,000 attempted crossings through the area on Sunday. Accusing the Biden administration of the influx in asylum seekers along the border, he called out the President and asked him to address the border issue, which the former labelled a "Federal issue."

Governor Ducey's assertions came after a controversial Trump-era immigration policy was reinstated on Monday, which upheld that asylum seekers have to wait for their court hearing by staying outside US borders. Underscoring that while the Migrant Protection Program (MPP), informally called "Stay in Mexico", helps control migrant influx along Texas border, Ducey said it is pushing them toward Arizona, 12 News reported. During the said Yuma visit, Ducey met with the Arizona National Guard, Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement as he toured the area.

12 News reported, citing officials, that more than 1.7 million migrants were stopped at the southern border last fiscal year. The count has surpassed two years total last October when there were more than 1,64,000 thwarted crossings. The number is said to be a "128% increase" from October 2020.

It is pertinent to mention that migrants massed at the Arizona border were from a host of southern American, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Lebanon, Mexico, Nepal, Tajikistan, Russia, India and more, US Border Patrol said in a Facebook post on November 29. 

Biden administration reinstates Trump-era immigration policy

The Biden administration reinstated the contentious "Remain in Mexico" policy, mandating all asylum awaiting court verdict to return back to Mexico until their applications are processed. The policy, which was initiated by Donald Trump was earlier suspended by the Biden administration.

Republican Governors of Missouri and Texas had sued the Biden administration in federal court to prevent the return to Mexico policy from being scrapped, alleging that it would put an excessive burden on them from new immigrants. Following this, in August, the Supreme Court agreed with the states and issued an order forcing the federal government to continue the policy. Now, the policy will be implemented in borders along with San Diego, Texas town of Laredo, Brownsville and El Paso. 

(Image: AP)