Grand Canyon Times

WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations Executive Director Jonathan Miller to detail the steps she’s taken to strengthen national security, and discuss her continued focus on keeping Arizona communities safe by securing the border.
 

“A well-trained, well-resourced Air and Marine Operations force is critical to securing our border, keeping our communities safe, and ensuring the fair and humane treatment of migrants,” said Sinema, Chair of the Border Management Subcommittee.

 

CBP Air and Marine Operations helps keep Arizonans safe and secure by performing homeland security operations including identifying and interdicting transnational criminal activity, including drug and human smuggling, performing rescue missions, supporting local law enforcement agencies with large-scale events like the Super Bowl, among others. Earlier this month, CBP Air and Marine Operations personnel performed two rescues of law enforcement officers in Southern Arizona in one day.

 

In January, Sinema re-introduced her bipartisan legislation expanding the operational zones for CBP Air and Marine Operations and U.S. Coast Guard from 12 to 24 nautical miles in the customs waters of the United States. The Senator’s legislation strengthens America’s efforts to interdict and stop the flow of drugs and human smuggling into America, keeping families safe and secure.

 

Sinema maintains a consistent focus on protecting the health and wellbeing of Arizona families and communities by taking real, meaningful steps to secure America’s borders. The Senator’s meeting with CBP Air and Marine Operations Executive Director Miller is the latest in a series of discussions with a broad coalition determined to find step-by-step solutions addressing the ongoing border and immigration crisis.

 

Earlier this month, Sinema led a Congressional delegation to tour the Southwest border near Naco to continue her focus on the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis impacting Arizona communities. The Senator was joined by U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), and Congressman David Valadao (R-Calif.). Prior to the Sinema-led tour, the delegation participated in a local perspectives discussion with Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and other local leaders to hear from the Arizonans on the frontlines of the ongoing border crisis.

 

At the end of last year, Sinema partnered with Republican Senator Thom Tillis on a bipartisan proposal to fuel investments in Border Patrol Agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations Officers; provide control of the border through increased enforcement, technology, resources, and more; modernize the asylum system; reform the employment visa system to ensure our nation’s global competitiveness; and establish a pathway for legal citizenship for roughly 2 million Dreamers who were brought to this country when they were children through no fault of their own.

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Original source can be found here.