Immigration

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema says this hasn't been an orderly process and she's calling on the Biden administration to surge resources at the border to help reduce the number of people entering daily.

FOX 10's Linda Williams is hearing from those who own homes in Rocky Point who are being impacted by the Lukeville port of entry closure amid a migrant surge. The home owners are losing out on income as the port of entry is the main thoroughfare that takes tourists to the popular destination.

"It's really cold and the only thing I've had to eat today is this," said Dennis Camacho Suarez, showing a granola bar wrapper. He's a migrant from Ecuador. He says the violence in his country is bad. "A lot of deaths every day. A lot of my friends have died," he said.

Businesses are keeping a close eye on the flow of goods at the Arizona border as a slowdown or disruption would be costly. The Mariposa port of entry in Nogales processes 600,000 commercial vehicles annually, which equates to $30 billion in imports into the U.S. and $11 billion in exports into Mexico.

Officials with Customs and Border Protection announced on Dec. 1 their decision to temporarily suspend operations at the Lukeville Port of Entry, in order to "redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody."

A U.S. Border Patrol agent is seen in body cam footage risking his life to save someone from drowning in the Rio Grande on Dec. 1, says U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens. The save was in Laredo, Texas.

This is footage from Lukeville, Arizona at the U.S. Mexico port of entry on Monday, Dec. 4. Officials with Customs and Border Protection announced on Dec. 1 their decision to temporarily suspend operations at the Lukeville Port of Entry, in order to "redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody."

As the Lukeville point of entry closes, travelers looking to go to or from Rocky Point will either have to cancel, or take a longer route. The feds are closing the port on Monday after a surge of migrants has overwhelmed authorities.

In this episode of John Hook's Newsmaker, we're catching up with Art Del Cueto from the National Border Patrol Council. He's speaking on the unprecedented demand at one of Arizona's ports of entry. The Lukeville port is completely overwhelmed and will be closing temporarily on Dec. 4. In the second segment, we are hearing from our own FOX 10 Photojournalist Mike Robison who is selflessly donating a kidney to save his brother's life.

Border officials are sounding the alarm, saying the situation is "overwhelming" and a lot of people are flowing into the country with little or no vetting. Many in Arizona are now asking, how efficient background checks are and whether they're doing their job to keep criminals out of the country. FOX 10's Ellen McNamara reports.

With the surge of people seeking asylum at the southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is scaling back its resources in some areas to address the influx. FOX 10's Marc Martinez has more on the safety concerns from people living at the border.

In a news release on Nov. 27, CBP said it was temporarily suspending vehicle processing at Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 in Texas, and it will reduce vehicle processing in Lukeville, Arizona. The closures are in an effort to redirect personnel to the border to take migrants into custody.