Arizona border town declares state of emergency as migrants are bussed in without food or shelter, mayor says
A border town in Arizona is seeing the cost of the Biden administration’s lax border policies that have created a humanitarian crisis, as tens of thousands of illegal immigrants flood into the United States.
The town of Gila Bend has declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing crisis. Mayor Chris Riggs blames the Biden administration for sending migrants to his town by bus.
In an interview with Fox Business, Riggs said that the town is ill-equipped to handle the number of people coming into it. The problem is exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, with numerous undocumented migrants suspected to be carrying the coronavirus.
"Border Patrol let us know that they were going to be dropping migrants that had been detained for 72 hours in our town, which we really didn't understand because we have nothing here," Riggs said. "We have no charity organizations that can help, no non-governmental organizations that a lot of the larger cities and towns do have to assist these people."
Briggs says that numerous immigrants are being bussed to his town without any available access to food or shelter. The town, which has a population of only 2,000, has yet to receive any federal, state or local funding to aid in the housing and care of the migrants. Furthermore, the town is unable to administer coronavirus testing as required.
Speaking to the channel, the mayor says that testing two buses of people each week for a year would cost the town at least $600,000, creating an undue financial burden for its residents. Worse still, violent crime has surged following the increase in migrants. Riggs says that approximately 20 illegal immigrants have arrived on foot to Gila Bend every day.
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