As part of the Arizona Daily Starβs βBeyond the Wallβ series, Americans living along the southwest border β ranging from ranchers and college professors to Border Patrol agents and advocates β were asked a simple question: βWhat has changed in the last 10 years in terms of border security?β Not surprisingly, the answers were as varied as the individuals who provided them.
Yet a striking consensus emerged from the Starβs survey: many people living along our border believe important aspects of border security have improved.
I, too, have witnessed these improvements. Through a combination of funding, technology and support for Arizonaβs border agents and law enforcement officials, the Tucson Sector has transformed from the busiest sector for illegal-border crossings in the country to a model for other sectors when it comes to security. In just the last decade, apprehensions of illegal border-crossers in the Tucson Sector β the top indicator of illegal entries into the United States β declined by more than 80 percent.
Ten years ago, the state of security along our border with Mexico was in a much different place. Fencing was almost nonexistent, Customs and Border Protection had no unmanned aerial vehicles to fly along the border, and video surveillance equipment was far and few between. Nationwide, we had fewer that 12,000 Border Patrol agents to protect our north, south and maritime borders. The overwhelming majority of people coming into the United States illegally were Mexican citizens seeking work and were crossing the border without the help of cartel-affiliated smuggling organizations.
Arizona was the epicenter of illegal entry into our country. In the Tucson Sector alone, the Border Patrol made over 392,000 apprehensions β almost triple that of the next highest sector. Last year, agents in the Tucson Sector made just over 63,000 apprehensions β an incredible testament to the work of our Border Patrol. Nationwide apprehensions have gone from over 1 million in 2006 to just over 300,000 last year.
While these are important milestones, it is no secret that our border still isnβt secure. Iβve met with border agents, law enforcement officials, ranchers and property owners living in Southern Arizona who have been disproportionately impacted by the flow of drug and human smugglers across the border β often across their own property. There is still much more to be done to secure out border and, as Arizonans know, it isnβt as simple as building a wall.
As a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I will continue working to invest in security and surveillance technology; ensure CPB and our border ports are fully staffed; enforce existing laws by immediately deporting illegal border-crossers; make E-Verify mandatory to maintain a fully legal workforce; and reform our broken immigration system once and for all.
Today, due in large part to the success of increased border resources, the overwhelming percentage of illegal border-crossers are drug and human smugglers who are more dangerous, better funded and increasingly skilled at evading border agents. In Arizona alone, heroin and opioid overdoses have skyrocketed.
Thatβs one of the reasons I voted for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which will help fight the growing opioid epidemic that is devastating communities across the country. Itβs a small but important step forward in a long road to reduce consumer demand that encourages high-risk, high-reward behavior of drug smugglers along our border.
I appreciate and am encouraged by the Starβs in-depth reporting on the state of our border. It is clear that while weβve made important progress, our border security problem is far from solved.
There are still too many ranchers living on the front lines of the border security battle and too many smugglers who are quick to adapt and change strategies to leverage the market for illicit drugs.
Much has changed over the last 10 years when it comes to border security. Over the next decade, it will be absolutely critical for us to finish the job.
