Jones Calls to Close the Border to New Migrants
* For high resolution photos, click on the photo and right-click to save.
Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) visited the California-Mexico border amidst a growing crisis that continues to strain San Diego County and the nation. Jones was joined by San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson (Alpine) and the Chief of Staff for Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas). San Diego Border Patrol sounded the alarm with Leader Jones about public safety and terrorism concerns regarding the “open border.”
“While the border and migrant crisis is inherently a federal issue, my constituents in San Diego County are paying the price of the federal government’s failure to address the situation,” said Leader Jones.
“I visited the region to learn more about the crisis on the ground. I commend Border Patrol agents for their outstanding job during this crisis, but they can only do so much. Without a coordinated strategy to safely process incoming migrants, the federal government has handicapped these agents from doing their job effectively. I’m advocating to close the border to new migrants and focus our resources on the migrants who have already arrived.”
On the tour, Border Patrol highlighted their strained resources, security concerns and challenges, and security infrastructure projects.
“The situation at the border is dangerous and unsustainable, especially for local governments like San Diego that are forced to divert resources from critical programs to deal with the crisis,” Leader Jones noted. “I cannot emphasize this enough - the federal government must pass comprehensive immigration reform and fix this issue immediately.”
Facts from U.S. Customs & Border Patrol Agency, San Diego Sector:
The region is struggling with the influx of migrants as up to 1,200 asylum seekers arrive in San Diego every day.
- Over 230,000 migrants crossed the San Diego border this year and 99% of them were released, often with minimal security checks to confirm their identity.
- There is an unprecedented uptick in migrants from China, Africa, and the Middle East. In regards to migrant demographic shifts, Border Patrol warned Leader Jones about their strong concerns for national security.
- San Diego Border Patrol recently sounded the alarm that “foreign fighters” may attempt to enter the country through the Southwest border in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, specifically referencing logos of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Palestine Islamic Jihad.
- Customs and Border Protection have released 42,000 migrants into San Diego County between September and November of this year. Border Patrol informed Leader Jones that the amount of migrants being released is not anticipated to drop anytime soon, so the County can expect to continue seeing massive numbers of migrants released.