In the days after Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls declared a state of emergency as his city is being overrun by uncontrolled border crossers, officials in the West Wing of the White House continue to ignore the threats to homeland security and public health.
#USBP #YumaSector agents apprehended a potential terrorist who illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico Thursday night. The 21-year-old migrant from Saudi Arabia is linked to several Yemeni subjects of interest. #BorderSecurity is #NationalSecurity pic.twitter.com/qszg0L0OYQ
— Chief Patrol Agent Chris T. Clem (@USBPChiefYUM) December 20, 2021
But U.S. Border Patrol leaders in Arizona are doing their best to be transparent with Arizonans about the dangerous situation.
On Monday morning, USBP Chief Patrol Agent Chris T. Clem took to social media to announce that his agents apprehended a 21-year-old Saudi man after he entered the United States from Mexico last week near Yuma. The man, who Clem described as “a potential terrorist,” has been linked to several Yemeni “subjects of interest,” the posting stated.
Clem oversees USBP’s Yuma Sector, a 181,670 square mile area along the 126 miles of U.S. / Mexico border between California’s Imperial Sand Dunes and the Yuma – Pima county line. His posting included photos of the jacket the man was wearing when arrested; it is adorned with a U.S. flag and a patch for the Central Oneida County Volunteer Ambulance Corps (COCVAC) based in New York.
COCVAC Chief Thomas Meyers has said the specific jacket the man was wearing has not been used by the organization since 2017.
“It’s unfortunate for us that it was our jacket the individual was wearing but it is a reminder that as trusted members of the community -EMS, fire, police- people will use our logos and our clothing and anything they can to gain the trust of the public,” Meyers said in a statement. “We are happy this individual was taken off the street prior to causing harm or danger to public safety.”
Further details about the Saudi man have not been released as of press time.
The Yuma Sector has been overrun by thousands of border crossers all month, prompting local, state, and federal law enforcement officials to call out President Joe Biden’s hands-off policy toward border security. Yet Nicholls state of emergency has been routinely ignored by Washington D.C.
Clem’s posting comes days after he announced that Yuma Sector USBP agents assigned to the Wellton Station apprehended a suspected MS-13 gang member from El Salvador on Dec. 13. Agents from the same station also took a Mexico national into custody that day who has a conviction for attempted aggravated sexual battery.
Several other arrests Clem publicized this month include men apprehended in the USBP Yuma Sector with violent criminal histories for offenses such as involving voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery, and drive-by shooting.
Among those who reacted to Monday’s announcement by Clem was Gov. Doug Ducey.
“Law enforcement professionals are working hard to stop the bad guys and protect our communities,” Ducey noted in a multi-part Tweet which mentioned rumors that U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had been expected to visit Yuma.
“The humanitarian and border crisis is very real — even if the Secretary wants to pretend it doesn’t exist. The brave and talented members of Yuma Border Patrol apprehended a potential terrorist who tried crossing through our southern border,” Ducey added before calling out the Biden Administration’s silence one more time.
“While Secretary Mayorkas cancels border trips and ignores the threat to our nation’s communities, members of law enforcement in Arizona continue to make safety and security a top priority. The Secretary could learn a thing or two from them,” the governor tweeted.
But Clem is not the only USBP Sector Chief turning to social media to expose the violent criminals being apprehended coming across the U.S. southwest border.
Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin also utilizes Twitter and Facebook, disclosing arrests of illegal border crossers with violent convictions. He also shares updates on the large groups of crossers which have overwhelmed federal law enforcement all year.
Data released by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as of Dec. 2 includes the number of reported “Enforcement Encounters” at the southwest border, which includes California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. At the end of November, there were 173,620 EEs reported, more than 100,000 above the 72,113 EEs in November 2020.
The data does not, however, include the tens of thousands of “get-aways” who are not apprehended by CBP officers at the border or within the USBP area of responsibility.
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