Kelly, Sinema Urge Administration to Send National Guard to Reopen Lukeville Port of Entry and Reimburse Arizona for Managing Border Crisis

Arizona Senators are working to reopen Lukeville Port of Entry and have the federal government reimburse Arizona for shouldering the border crisis

Arizona Senators’ call comes after Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs requested the reassignment of National Guard members to reopen the port

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema urged the Administration to reassign National Guard members to help reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry and reimburse Arizona for the costs it incurs for shouldering the burden of the border crisis. 

“For far too long, Arizona communities have paid the price for Washington’s failures on the border. They are unfairly forced to use their own very limited resources to manage and serve record numbers of migrants, which are overwhelming our broken immigration system. To help manage this crisis, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently indefinitely closed the Lukeville Port of Entry and diverted all Port Officers to process and transport migrants arriving at the border. This decision is an unacceptable outcome that further destabilizes our border, risks the safety of our communities, and damages our economy. Our ports of entry are key drivers of economic growth and security in our state, and it is critical that they be properly staffed and resourced,” wrote Senators Kelly and Sinema. 

In early December, U.S. Customs and Border indefinitely closed the Lukeville Port of Entry – a critical port for Arizona’s economy that supports jobs, trade, tourism, and small businesses. Lukeville’s closure comes as CBP is forced to shift resources to other parts of the border to address the growing border crisis. 

Immediately following the port’s closure, Kelly, Sinema, and Hobbs called on the administration to quickly maintain port of entry operations, get the border under control, and keep Arizonans safe and secure. 

In their letter, Kelly and Sinema called for the Administration to reassign 243 National Guard members currently on federal active duty orders on the southern border to facilitate the reopening of the Lukeville Port of Entry immediately. 

The Senators also called on the federal government to reimburse Arizona for the $512,529,333 in taxpayer dollars spent to address the security and humanitarian disaster at the border due to the federal government’s inaction. 

Click HERE to read Kelly and Sinema’s letter.