Border community reveals what Trump admin still needs to accomplish as crisis calms down: ‘Undue burdens’

It’s morning again in the border community of Yuma, Arizona, but there’s still work to be done to ensure long-term security and to clean up leftover challenges.

Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines explained the challenges faced in the wake of a high influx of migrants into the community at times throughout the Biden administration.

“Chaos first, and abandoned second,” Lines, a Republican, said of the border under former President Joe Biden, but said it is “controlled” under President Donald Trump.

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A U.S. Border Patrol agent checks for identification of immigrants as they wait to be processed after crossing the border from Mexico in Yuma, Arizona, on Dec. 30, 2022. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

In the Yuma sector alone, there were hundreds of thousands of migrant encounters during the Biden administration. In February, there were 8,326 illegal border crossings marked down by United States Customs and Border Protection. The number of people placed a strain on local resources in the area, including the local hospital.

“The message is that we’d like our not-for-profit hospital to be reimbursed to the tune of about $32 million. That’s auditable costs… it caused undue burdens here in our local communities,” Lines said.

Fox News Digital reported in 2023 that the Yuma Regional Medical Center had to deal with millions in unpaid medical costs given the number of illegal immigrants that came in for care.

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Construction begins to fill gaps in the border wall in Yuma, Arizona, on Aug 12, 2022. (Office of Gov. Doug Ducey)

“Our food bank was impacted, as well as kind of the medical community as a whole, just because of fentanyl,” Lines said.

“We’ve seen a significant impact of fentanyl here in the community. One of my best friends just lost his oldest nephew two weeks ago. The pills are being sold for about $2.50. There needs to be serious consequences for the Chinese and for the cartels that are dealing and pushing this product into the United States,” he added.

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In 2022, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey placed metal storage containers along some of the gaps in Yuma, which were eventually taken down because of legal action from the federal government. Now, construction of permanent border wall panels in gaps along the border in the area is underway, following a reversal of Biden’s policies once Trump retook office.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joins an ICE raid in New York City on Tuesday. Noem said communities will be safer because of targeted raids that go after criminal illegal immigrants. (Department of Homeland Security)

“As of today, we’re starting seven new miles of construction, we’re going to continue to make America safe again,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a video posted to X on March 16.

The region became a key focal point for politicians on the 2024 campaign trail, with many stopping for visits despite not running in geographical border states themselves — a key indicator that border security and immigration were a top issue for American voters.

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“Every state has been impacted by the human trafficking as well as the trafficking of narcotics. For the last four years, as I’ve traveled throughout the United States, every single community leader or member of a community has approached me saying that they have never seen such an impact from narcotics and from illegal immigration in their communities, and that their resources to provide for the individuals in their community have been exhausted,” Lines said.