Critics are asking where Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was during Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s virtual roundtable with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Arizona-based non-governmental organizations.
“I was born and raised in southern Arizona, so for years I’ve seen first-hand the challenges at our southern border. Today, we brought Arizonans together to strengthen communication and coordination so we can find solutions as we work to secure the border, protect our communities, and ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely,” said Sinema, Chair of the Senate Border Management Subcommittee.
Kelly, an Arizona transplant who is up for re-election this November, was a no show to the roundtable. Although he has largely supported the Biden administration’s open border policies, he claims he is improving border security even though there is no evidence to support his claim, or any claim that border security has improved.
Sinema convened the virtual roundtable to identify solutions with key federal and local partners. Sinema focused the discussion on recent operational challenges throughout the state related to the continued high numbers of illegal aliens crossing the border, and how stakeholders can work together to secure the border, protect communities, and ensure what she calls “migrants” are treated fairly and humanely.
Following Sinema’s work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure additional funding for migrant assistance, the government funding package released today includes $150 million for the migrant assistance portion of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program. When Sinema became Chair of the Border Management Subcommittee, her first hearing focused on the contributions and challenges experienced by non-governmental organizations operating at the border.
Last year, Sinema partnered with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) to introduce their Bipartisan Border Solutions Act—legislation that improves the federal government’s response to the border crisis, reduces the impact on local border communities, and ensures migrants are treated fairly and humanely.
Sinema recently partnered with Republican Senator Susan Collins to introduce the bipartisan Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, which improves employment authorization for migrants who apply for asylum with verified identities, and who have no flags in federal databases that would indicate a criminal history, etc.