TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Former President Donald Trump made a visit to Arizona's southern border in Cochise County Thursday.
He arrived at the Sierra Vista airport around 11 a.m., then headed to the border for a tour and remarks to the press.
Trump's visit comes three weeks to the day after his running mate JD Vance made a similar visit to the Arizona-Sonora border near Naco.
KGUN 9 will be providing coverage of his visit throughout the day.
FULL VIDEO OF TRUMP REMARKS AT BORDER:
TRUMP'S ARRIVAL:
Trump also has a rally planned in Glendale, Ariz. Friday, Aug. 23 at the Desert Diamond Arena, according to his campaign website.
Southern Arizona border appearances by both Trump and Vance within a month of one another highlights immigration as a top concern in this presidential race. Democrats, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, continue to lay partial blame on the former president for his role in the failed bi-partisan border bill earlier this year.
"This is the most hypocritical thing I've ever seen in politics," Kelly said in a virtual interview with the press Wednesday. "A guy who talks about this issue all the time, when we finally had a chance to address it with strong legislation, he told Republicans in the Senate they were not allowed to vote for it."
KGUN 9 will have more with Sen. Kelly later today
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that migrant arrests along the border are dropping relative to recent numbers.
In July, CBP says they saw 56,408 migrant encounters along the southwest border—the lowest number, they say, since September of 2020. President Biden issued an executive action in June that restricts asylum requests. Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller credits the administration's new policy—which allows them to turn away asylum seekers—with the lower numbers they're now seeing.
In the Tucson Sector specifically, numbers are dropping, but the area continues to see the highest numbers of border apprehensions in the country.
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- Scripps News: The Race
