WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema - Chair of the Border Management Subcommittee - met with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar ahead of Title 42’s termination to prepare for the expected influx of migrants and discuss opportunities to enhance coordination between Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and their Mexican counterparts.
“As Title 42 ends, we’re working to strengthen coordination and cooperation among our Customs and Border Protection in Arizona and their Mexican counterparts – ensuring that we work together to manage increased levels of migration at our ports of entry,” said Sinema, Chair of the Border Management Subcommittee.
As Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee, Sinema relayed the need for enhanced communication and coordination from Mexico to ensure order and security at Arizona ports.
During the meeting, Sinema urged Ambassador Salazar to press the Mexican government to make sure that information related to migrant movements is quickly conveyed to American counterparts to avoid dangerous conflicts at Arizona ports.
The Senator also underscored concerns with how increased traffic at ports of entry along the Southwest border will impact the local economy. As Arizona’s largest trading partner with almost $20 billion in binational trade last year, Mexico serves as a key economic engine for the entire state – closing the ports due to increased migrant traffic would negatively impact Arizonans’ economic opportunities, increase the cost of goods, and more.
Sinema last met with Ambassador Salazar in March during her bipartisan Congressional delegation trip to Mexico City to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, where she emphasized the need for enhanced border security cooperation.
Last week, Sinema partnered with Republican Senator Thom Tillis (N.C.) to introduce bipartisan legislation resembling the operations of Title 42, giving the Administration a two-year temporary expulsion authority for migrants attempting to illegally enter the U.S. without inspection or proper documents.
Original source can be found here.
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