Sen. Kyrsten Sinema visits Phoenix Vet Center, talks vets, border issues

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has been spending much of her time in Washington of late, but on Wednesday, she was back in the Valley.

It was a remarkable conversation on Wednesday, as Sen. Sinema visited with 98-year-old Pearl Harbor veteran Jack Holder. The visit was part of a tour of the Vet Center in Central Phoenix, an independent facility that has helped with readjustment counseling and mental health for nearly four decades.

"I think every day about the harm that our men and women in uniform put themselves into to protect our freedoms and our liberties," said Sen. Sinema.

It continues to her long-standing push on veteran issues, but Sen. Sinema's trip is the second in recent weeks, after a stop at the border where she says she listened to Customs and Border Protection officers.

"I really wanted to understand their take on this crisis that we're facing, and to hear their proposed solution," said Sen. Sinema.

They told Sen. Sinema that they need a lot more help.

"What they suggested is that we get more asylum officers at our ports of entry to quickly determine whether our not immigrants presenting at the border are actually asylees, or whether they're economic migrants coming for a better life," said Sen. Sinema.