SE Valley Times

U.S. Congressional candidate Kelly Cooper said policies put in place by President Joe Biden (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) are have led to to more than 440,000 illegal alien encounters in the Tucson Sector of the Arizona-Mexico Border.

"Biden and Kamala's open border policies are enticing illegal immigrants to try to cross the border,” Cooper told SE Valley Times. “Migrants, seeing a less aggressive approach to border enforcement compared to previous administrations, believe they have a higher chance of making it across.”

“Illegal immigration hits Arizona hard, especially when it comes to resources,” said Cooper. “Border towns feel it the most, with hospitals getting overwhelmed, law enforcement stretched thin, and housing and social services under pressure.. On top of that, drug and weapon smuggling across the border adds to the security concerns.”

There have been 440,598 total encounters to date in the Tucson Sector during fiscal year 2024, with 247,483 of these encounters being from citizens of Mexico, 80,709 from Guatemala, 3,386 from Honduras, 3,160 from El Salvador, and 105,860 from citizens from other countries, reported Tucson Standard.

During fiscal year 2024 to date, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has arrested 41,780 illegal aliens who have previous criminal convictions or who are wanted by law enforcement. 

15,503 of these arrests have been made by the U.S. Border Patrol, and 26,277 of these arrests have been made by the CBP’s Office of Field Operations. The CBP’s 2024 fiscal year runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

CBP has reported almost 2.6 million illegal alien encounters during Fiscal Year 2024, while there were only 646,822 in Fiscal Year 2020. 

Kelly Cooper was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and spent a large portion of his childhood in Chicago. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After he was honorably discharged, he started working in the restaurant business, eventually opening his own locations that he managed. He moved to Chandler, Arizona in 2013 where he met his wife. Cooper is the founder of the Maricopa County Republican Veterans Club. He is running for Congress in Arizona's 4th District.