Arizona Officials Join DHS Secretary Wolf, 100 Miles Of New Border Wall Built

January 10, 2020 ADI Staff Reporter
Newly constructed border wall next to the Normandy-style barricade it will soon replace. [Photo courtesy Department of Homeland Security]

YUMA – On Friday, Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls, U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Porvaznik, and Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot joined Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and Senator Martha McSally, to commemorate the Federal government’s completion of construction on the first 100 miles of new border wall system along the southwest border.

The portion of the wall completed in the Yuma Sector is part of a high-tech system that combines a physical barrier with technology and real-time surveillance. In Fiscal Year 2019, Yuma Sector was the third busiest sector in the nation with almost 70,000 apprehensions between ports of entry according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

According to the DHS, nearly 25% of its 105 miles of land border now has new border wall. This new wall construction is combined with all-weather roads, lighting, enforcement cameras, and other related enforcement technology to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection continue to secure the U.S. southern border.

“As of today, we have completed the first 100 miles of new border wall system on the southwest border. New wall has been constructed in every border state from California to Texas. This is a milestone for our entire country, and this would not have been possible without the President’s steadfast determination and leadership,” said Wolf in a press release. “The new border wall system is an undeniable impediment to human smugglers, drug traffickers, and other criminals who have exploited our lack of effective border infrastructure to smuggle drugs, people and illegal contraband into our country. The President listened to his operators on the front lines and is fulfilling his promise to secure the border.”

“The wall is a critical component in border security measures for Yuma’s border region for the safety of our community, for proficient border crossing operations, and for economic stability,” said Mayor Doug Nicholls. “An efficiently-operated, safe southern border region is pivotal to the economy as a whole, inclusive of Yuma’s $3 billion agriculture industry. We experienced a dramatic reduction in incursions when the 2006 wall was constructed, which decreased illegal crossings by 95%. Fourteen years later with changes in immigration patterns, we need to keep safety and efficiency a mainstay.”

“The commemoration of the 100th border wall mile is monumental for Yuma Sector,” said Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony J. Porvaznik. “Our agents do a tremendous job on the front lines enforcing law and order on the border with all available resources. Now, they are equipped with a 30-foot wall which impedes and denies attempts to enter our country illegally, assault our agents, or smuggle dangerous narcotics and contraband into the United States.”

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