CBP Set To Open Temporary Facility in Yuma For Migrant Family Units

June 28, 2019 ADINews Service
yuma border patrol
Construction crews complete a temporary housing facility June 26, 2019 in Yuma, Ariz. as part of an ongoing response to the current border security and humanitarian crisis along the Southwest border. [U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo by Jerry Glaser]

Yuma — On Friday, U.S. Border Patrol agents hosted tours of the new temporary facility in Yuma along the U.S./Mexico border.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the facility “is being established in response to the strain on resources and facilities due to unprecedented numbers of family units illegally crossing the border.”

Related article: Yuma Mayor Declares State of Emergency, Migrants Overwhelming Shelters

In April, Arizona State Representatives Tim Dunn, Joanne Osborne, and Senator Sine Kerr declared their support for the City of Yuma’s declaration of emergency. Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls declared a state of emergency on due the overwhelming number of migrants being processed by federal officials.

Listen to Representative Tim Dunn discuss humanitarian crisis in Yuma.

Construction of the facility began Saturday, June 15, as part of the ongoing response to the current border security and humanitarian crisis along the Southwest Border.

Temporary facilities like the one in Yuma were previously opened in Donna and El Paso, Texas to help with the overflow of migrants.

The temporary, soft-sided facility will accommodate up to 500 individuals in U.S. Border Patrol custody while they await transfer to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Refugee Resettlement.

The temporary structures are weatherproof and climate-controlled for eating, sleeping, and personal hygiene.

The contract, just under $15 million, according to CBP, provides showers, toilets and sinks, laundry trailers, sleeping mats, kitchen equipment, personal property storage boxes, office space, interior and perimeter closed circuit television, lockers, security, power, HVAC services, food, snacks, water, and custodial services.

Arizona Democrats followed the lead of their Congressional colleagues by largely denying a humanitarian crisis existed along the U.S. Mexico border until just this week.

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