By Corinne Murdock |
Monday, the National Border Patrol Union (NBPC) advised New York Mayor Eric Adams to blame President Joe Biden of the bused-in migrants in his city. The NBPC also said that Adams’ problems were paltry compared to those facing the southern border states.
“[W]hat’s ‘horrific’ is dead bodies piling up in border states, truckloads of people suffocating in heat, the lawlessness and trashing of our border areas, courtesy of Biden,” tweeted the NBPC. “A few people getting off a bus in NYC instead of Long Island or upstate NY is not ‘horrific.’”
The NBPC’s criticism intones a similar message to that of Governor Doug Ducey. Last month, Ducey issued similar responses to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Adams. The two mayors have complained about Ducey and Texas Governor Greg Abbott busing migrants to their cities.
Ducey clarified to Adams that Arizona didn’t send any migrants to New York. He told Bowser that she should take her complaints up with the leader of the nation and her party, Biden.
Migrant smuggling in vans is common, but one case captured national interest in June when two smugglers abandoned a tractor-trailer filled with illegal immigrants. 53 of the illegal immigrants inside died from heat stroke.
Also common along illegal immigrant routes: trash. Illegal immigrants discard trash as well as money, clothing, and any personal items that could identify them.
In April, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned the Biden administration that it should improve its data collection, reporting, and evaluation of migrant deaths. Data on migrant rescues and deaths, available through the Border Safety Initiative Tracking System (BSITS), hasn’t been sufficient for several years now, according to the GAO.
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office partnered with a Tucson nonprofit, Humane Borders, to create a public tracker of illegal immigrant deaths in Arizona: the “Arizona OpenGIS Initiative for Deceased Migrants.” Since January, their tracker reported 126 illegal immigrant deaths. Total deaths for 2021 were 225, and 223 in 2020; prior to that, deaths last reached over 200 in 2010.
Officials share repeatedly that the surge in illegal immigration from the ongoing border crisis imposes an unprecedented burden on local resources, like first responders.
Last week, Tucson Sector agents apprehended smugglers fleeing law enforcement: a dangerous chase that ended in a crash.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
