AZMEX SPECIAL 2 JUN 2018
Note: photos at link.
Thx
In Nogales, DHS chief decries 'lawlessness' at border
By Arielle Zionts
Nogales International May 31, 2018 Updated May 31, 2018
https://www.nogalesinternational.com/news/in-nogales-dhs-chief-decries-lawlessness-at-border/article_04371d26-6541-11e8-b80b-0f612f0093a6.html
Speaking in front of the border fence east of Nogales on Thursday, the head of the Department of Homeland Security decried the "lawlessness" of the U.S.-Mexico border and said the Trump administration is doing "all that we can to change this."
"Our border is in crisis," Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said. "It's being exploited by criminals, by smugglers and by thousands of people who have absolutely no respect for our laws."
The Trump administration is responding, she said, by building a wall, deploying the National Guard and referring all unauthorized border-crossers on the southern border for federal prosecution.
Nielsen's comments came during a visit to Nogales that included a tour of the Dennis DeConicini Port of Entry, a roundtable with so-called "local stakeholders," and a trip to the border to view and learn about enforcement efforts and challenges.
The border trip, Nielsen's second in two months after she visited San Luis in April, was organized by U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican who represents Cochise and parts of Pima counties, and who is running for the U.S. Senate.
Also in tow was U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, a Republican who represents parts of Maricopa County.
At the beginning of her visit, prior to the off-the-record roundtable, Nielsen framed her trip to the border as a chance to listen to the stakeholders and learn about the local context.
"It's really important to look at (border issues) state by state, region by region, to really understand what's happening," she said.
Nielsen noted that while many Americans view the border as an enforcement zone, it's also a place where people live and work.
But later in the day during the news conference in an area east of the city known as "Smuggler's Gulch," the secretary adopted a less-nuanced tone, raising the alarm over border security, praising McSally's efforts to secure the border, and referencing Trump administration talking points about building a wall because "walls work." She also complained about "legal loopholes" in the asylum process and her department being "attacked" by politicians and the media.
In a news release, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat who represents Santa Cruz County as part of Congressional District 3, called Nielsen's visit a "PR stunt" and "distasteful photo opportunity at the border." "Today's visit by Secretary Nielsen to Nogales demonstrates a blatant disregard for how the Trump Administration's policies are impacting immigrant families and border residents," said Grijavla, who said he spent the day meeting with asylum-seekers in Nogales, Sonora and visiting the Kino Border Initiative, a local Jesuit ministry that aids deported migrants.
The usual cast
Nielsen's roundtable at the DeConcini port included law enforcement officials and members of the business and ranching community who are often asked to participate in such meetings. In attendance were Fred Davis and John Ladd, two Cochise County ranchers; local rancher Dan Bell; Gary Brasher, a Tubac businessman; and Jaime Chamberlain, a Nogales produce executive who said he is hosting a fundraiser for McSally's Senate campaign on Friday.
During the subsequent news conference, a reporter noted complaints that the stakeholder meetings seem to always include the same people, and asked McSally if she ever meets with immigrant rights activists.
McSally said she does meet with them, but Thursday's topic was border security and the ports of entry.
She also referred to the all-male, predominantly white group as a "diverse group of stakeholders" who don't always agree with each other on the issues.
Asked by the NI why the stakeholder group didn't include more everyday people and wasn't more reflective of the demographics of the local community, McSally insisted the participants reflected the community's interests well. She said the group spoke "passionately" about staffing the ports, the impact of interior checkpoints and bringing business to the area.
For his part, Schweikert cited meetings he said he had several years ago with small business owners, including Latinos, who were impacted by banks closings. "Those were more really getting down into the neighborhood level of how do we make this community survive," he said.
Asked why, if Nogales-area residents are especially concerned about better staffing at the ports, her comments Thursday were so focused on the wall and undocumented migrants, Nielsen said DHS is working with Congress to secure more funding for infrastructure at ports to facilitate legal trade and travel.
"I supposed the reason that today I'm focusing on border security is because for reasons I can't explain, there are those who don't want us to enforce the laws," she said. "I'm here to say we need to and we will."
McSally said the tour was also about the ports, noting that she and Nielsen visited the Douglas and Deconcini ports of entry and discussed how opioids from Mexico mostly pass through ports, not the wall. "So we are doing both. I mean border security is about in between the ports and at the ports of entry," she said. "If you look at the schedule that we had today, it was a very good balance between the two and they're both a priority."
Bell, the area rancher, told the NI he attended the roundtable to support a call for better infrastructure and technology at the border, as well as improvements at ports of entry "because our community is so dependent on that."
The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that the National Guard has begun putting its troops at Arizona's ports of entry, with 10 guardsmen arriving at the Mariposa Port of Entry last week. Gov. Doug Ducey, at Trump's behest, had sent hundreds of troops to the border in April, leading to complaints that the extra assistance was more urgently needed at the ports.
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