Unprecedented Surge of Migrants Overwhelms Arizona Border

Lukeville Crossing Closed as Thousands Await Processing in Near-Freezing Conditions

Arizona's Tucson Sector is experiencing an unprecedented surge in illegal entries, with a record high of 17,500 immigrants arrested for unlawfully entering the United States from Mexico in a single week.
The Lukeville, Arizona border crossing has been closed due to the surge, forcing legal border crossers to use ports of entry more than 100 miles away.
Most of the migrants are adult males from countries outside the Western Hemisphere, including Africa and the Middle East, with many paying up to $10,000 to smugglers to reach the U.S. border.
Border Patrol resources are being overwhelmed, with more than 4,000 migrants in holding facilities designed for 2,669 and many more waiting outdoors in near-freezing temperatures for processing.
Local lawmakers have called for the deployment of the Arizona National Guard to the border, and the Biden administration has requested additional resources from Congress for border operations.