Yuma, AZ. struggles to handle mass release of migrant families
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NATION-NOW
Photo: Border Patrol
Arizona city struggles to handle mass release of migrant families
Arizona city overwhelmed by release of migrant families
Author: Rafael Carranza, Arizona Republic
Published: 11:34 AM EDT October 17, 2018
Updated: 11:59 AM EDT October 17, 2018
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Crisis: Large groups of immigrants measuring in the hundreds are being smuggled over the border.
Border Patrol
PHOENIX An Arizona border city has seen a surge in migrant families this year, becoming the second-busiest crossing on the U.S.-Mexico border. And the mass release of some of these families from federal custody last week has strained the community's ability to assist them.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement the agency that takes custody of migrants after they are processed at the border released a large number of migrant families in Arizona last week after running out of space to hold them.
Since then, the flow of migrants has more or less returned to normal, migrant advocates say.
In Yuma alone, ICE released some 200 family members, said Teresa Cavendish, operations director for Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona.
Oct. 16: Legal battle over family separations flares up in court
Sept. 14: Judge favors deal giving separated migrant families second shot at asylum
But unlike Tucson or Phoenix, Yuma, with a population just more than 200,000, has far fewer services to assist these families once ICE enrolls them in its Alternative to Detention program. Migrants in the program are outfitted with an ankle monitor, released to the custody of relatives living in the United States, and given a notice to appear in immigration court at a later date.
Catholic Community Services works with the Yuma Refugee Ministry, which normally receives less than a dozen migrants a day. But the number of families ICE released last week overwhelmed the organization, forcing them to set up overflow accommodations.
"Even though (Yuma) is one of the busiest points of entry, its still, as a community ... been able to provide fewer options for ICE to do alternative to release programs into shelter type programs," Cavendish said.
Cavendish said she was unable to say where the families released by ICE had stayed to protect their safety.
In Phoenix and Tucson, families released by ICE typically arrive at migrant respite centers, which provide assistance in reaching relatives. But the large numbers of migrants released last week strained services in those cities as well. In response, several churches set up temporary shelters.
If ICE continues releasing large numbers of migrants, it will be a challenge to accommodate them, Cavendish said.
Statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection the agency in charge of securing the U.S.-Mexico border show the drastic change in the arrivals of migrant families in the Yuma area.
Sept. 13: 416 migrant children remain separated weeks after deadline to reunite families
Sept. 12: Arrests of migrant families crossing border reach highest point of Trump presidency
So far this fiscal year, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended 12,367 family members in the Yuma sector, which extends from the Yuma County line to the Imperial Sand Dunes in California. That nearly equals the total number of migrant apprehensions from the previous fiscal year even though it doesn't yet include the number of families arriving in September.
Considering the number of unaccompanied minors has also nearly doubled here this year, the total number of Border Patrol apprehensions in the Yuma Sector is on track to reach the highest levels in a decade.
Rise called 'crisis'
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen referred to this dramatic rise as a "crisis" when she visited the Yuma area in April, just as the National Guard began their deployment to Arizona's borderlands.
Her visit came as the administration was implementing a "zero-tolerance" policy on illegal entries. The policy resulted in the forcible separation of nearly 3,000 minors from their parents after they were caught crossing the border illegally. To date, some 245 minors are still awaiting reunification after a federal judge's ruling ordering the federal government to comply.
Sept. 6: Trump administration seeks to detain migrant families indefinitely
Aug. 15: Senate investigators say feds fail to keep tabs on immigrant children released from custody
As the zero-tolerance policy and the resulting separations ensued, the number of migrant families arriving at the Yuma area dipped slightly. But they began to rise again after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in June ending the practice.
The total number of families arriving in Yuma in August, the latest statistics available, is the largest monthly total since Customs and Border Protection started tracking their arrival in 2013.
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