Gallego Presses Administration to Prioritize Arizona Border Communities with New Funding
In a letter to Homeland Security, Gallego calls out the need to support Arizona’s border communities and law enforcement
WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) pressed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a new letter urging the Department to swiftly disperse recently passed Shelter and Services Program (SSP) funding and to prioritize Arizona border communities that are on the front lines of the crisis.
“SSP funding is critical to keeping our border communities afloat. Providing adequate funding will help local leaders prevent street releases and protect access to community resources, like hospitals and first responders, for full-time residents,” Gallego writes.
In the letter, Rep. Gallego highlights that Pima County, which manages SSP funds for the entire Tucson Sector – currently the busiest sector of the southern border – will run out of funding on March 31st. To avoid this disastrous scenario, Rep. Gallego urges swift disbursement of the newly authorized funding and calls for full retroactive reimbursement of expenses should the funding not be disbursed before localities like Pima reach their fiscal cliff.
“Pima County and other Arizona border communities need resources right now, and they cannot afford to have those resources caught up in bureaucratic red tape. I strongly urge you to act quickly and decisively on their behalf,” Gallego concludes.
The letter comes after the House recently voted to avoid a government shutdown and approve funding for necessary programs that support Arizona’s border communities, law enforcement, and service members.
The bipartisan government spending package invests in critical border security priorities Rep. Gallego has fought for, including:
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$1.6 billion for border management requirements and $495 million for additional Border Patrol Agents
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$75.5 million for fentanylscanners
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$650 million for the Shelter and Services Program
Full text of the letter can be found HERE.
BACKGROUND ON REP. GALLEGO’S EFFORTS TO SUPPORT ARIZONA’S BORDER COMMUNITIES:
On Monday, Rep. Gallego, Attorney General Kris Mayes, and Sheriff David Hathaway held a press conference underscoring the need for federal action to address the crisis at Arizona’s border. That same day, Rep. Gallego sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee leaders urging them to include more funding for the Shelter and Services Program, which provides critical support to Arizona border communities.
The press conference followed the failure to pass the bipartisan border deal in Congress after extremists in the House and Senate withdrew their support. The deal, supported by Rep. Gallego, included key priorities like funding for Arizona border communities, tools to help stop the fentanyl crisis, changes to how the U.S. handles asylum claims, and increased funding for border protection.
Prior to the end of Title 42 in May 2023 and after communicating with Arizona border leaders, Rep. Gallego sent four letters to Biden Administration officials and Congress requesting specific resources these communities need to reduce the burden on them and their residents.
In June, he sent an initial letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) arguing that border states like Arizona need more funding to address border crossings and provide services. He called the FEMA funding model “misguided.”
After a lackluster response from FEMA, he sent a second letter to Secretary of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas directly, expressing his disagreement with the funding model.
Rep. Gallego also sent a letter to FEMA urging the Agency to fix a new documentation requirement that strains border communities and non-profits in Arizona, putting their funding at risk.
Following these letters, as well as a one-on-one call with Sec. Mayorkas, Rep. Gallego announced in September that he had secured over $2 million in emergency funding from the DHS to support Arizona’s border communities as they address an increase in migrant crossings.
In November, Rep. Gallego joined Rep. Michael McCaul(TX-10) in sending a bipartisan letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership requesting that any FY 2024 supplemental appropriations include funding for critical programs to aid first responders in communities impacted by immigration.
After close coordination with Arizona’s non-profits, border community leaders, and law enforcement officials, Rep. Gallego rolled out his plan to institute sweeping reforms to address the problems plaguing FEMA’s failed Shelter and Services Program (SSP)that has shortchanged Arizona’s border communities on the front line of the border crisis.
In December, Rep. Gallego called on the Biden Administration to issue an emergency declaration for the Southwest Border to provide Arizona’s border communities and nonprofits the resources they need to humanely process the increased number of arrivals at the border. He also inquired about using National Guard facilities in Douglas, Arizona as emergency shelter for migrants.
Also in December, Rep. Gallego traveled across Arizona meeting with border community leaders. He met with local officials, farmers, and business owners in Yuma to discuss the impact the closing of the Lukeville Port of Entry had on their businesses and Arizona’s economy, and he visited Nogales, Bisbee, and Tucson to meet with local leaders, nonprofit officials, and representatives from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to discuss the impact of increased migration on Arizona’s border communities.
To stop the flow of fentanyl across the border, Rep. Gallego introduced the Buck Stops Here Act which would authorize the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to designate financial institutions, transaction classes, or accounts as primary money laundering concerns in connection to illicit fentanyl trafficking. He also secured two fentanyl-related provisions in the annual defense bill mandating a report on the role of the Department of Defense (DoD) in supporting a national emergency declaration combating the fentanyl crisis and mandating a threat analysis of any potential threats the illicit fentanyl drug trade poses to the defense interests of the U.S.
Rep. Gallego sent a letter to the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, imploring the Speaker to ensure that any supplemental funding package that comes before the House addresses the needs of Arizona’s border communities, and he sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging the Administration to crack down on foreign travel agencies that advertise travel packages that include transportation to our Southern border, often through human smuggling organizations.