Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake described the surge in migrants crossing the southern border as an invasion by a “foreign army” of “men of fighting age” as encounters with migrants reach record levels.
Lake, who has not yet admitted that she lost the race for governor in 2022, said on Fox New’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that unless action is taken on the border crisis, her state will change forever would.
John R. Modlin, chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, said there were a total of 17,500 apprehensions at the border in the region in the week ending Dec. 1.
“The worst border in the country is in Arizona and is the Tucson sector,” said Lake, a former television news anchor and vocal supporter of Donald Trump.
“These aren’t families coming together, and we do have that, but the majority of these people are fighting older men.” “We’re watching as we’re being invaded and we’re seeing a foreign army practically pouring across the border.”
Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake said her state is being invaded by a “foreign army” of “men of fighting age” as encounters with migrants hit record levels
John R. Modlin, chief patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, said there were a total of 17,500 apprehensions at the border in the region in the week ending Dec. 1
In September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showed that migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border reached an all-time high of 269,735
“We talk a lot about Bidenflation, we have a Biden invasion at the border in Arizona.”
Earlier this year, documented hundreds of African migrants entering the United States in Lukeville, Arizona, in broad daylight.
An ongoing diplomatic dispute between the United States and Nicaragua means the latter country now charges refugees a $160 entry fee and then turns a blind eye to migrants heading north toward the United States.
In September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data showed that migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border reached an all-time high of 269,735, including 218,763 apprehensions by Border Patrol agents at illegal border crossing points and another 50,972 expulsions at ports of entry.
The monthly record number brought the total number of migrant encounters to 2.48 million in the recently completed fiscal year 2023, up from 2.38 million in 2022 and was the highest ever on record.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection showed that the number of migrant encounters at the southwest land border remained high, with 231,529 in October and 235,173 in November.
Republican Congressman Juan Ciscomani of Arizona has called for the deployment of the National Guard to help deal with the escalating refugee crisis.
“The Tucson Sector is leading the way in encounters and our agents and officers are overrun and understaffed,” Ciscomani wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, hours before senators issued a statement saying another popular port of entry would be closed due to the influx of arrivals.
“The situation is long past its breaking point and those on the front lines of this crisis need immediate support,” he added, citing the 3,000 encounters that took place at the Tuscon Center on Thursday.
The representative called for immediate federal intervention, stating: “We must do everything we can to help our local communities, law enforcement officers, and CBP agents and officers.”
“No one knows the gravity of this situation better than our local officials,” he continued, as the Lukeville Port of Entry, 150 miles to the west, was also overrun.
He told Mayorkas, who is seeking the top Homeland Security job in 2021: “As you consider this request, I urge you to work with Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona County supervisors, mayors and sheriffs.”
A shocking video last week showed human smugglers taunting news crews at the Arizona-Mexico border, blowing them kisses as they sawed a hole in a wall with power tools.
Seen here is a section of the border near the Tuscon Sector Border Patrol headquarters
A fleet of cartel SUVs pulled up to the border in Lukeville and eight people were escorted from the vehicles.
Migrants, including a family and an elderly man with one leg, were helped by the smugglers through the small gap in the wall.
About two hours later, the cartel team returned with power tools to cut a new hole in the wall.
They used electric saws and drills as well as a generator for the task before they began to taunt the television crew.
The smugglers blew kisses and laughed as they continued to cut a hole in the wall.