(NewsNation) — The Biden administration is facing growing calls to provide solutions to stem the migrant surge at the southern border, but local sheriffs say the solution isn’t one-size-fits-all.
So far, the Tucson Sector has seen the highest number of border crossings this fiscal year, with over 282,000 migrants crossing there, according to sources. This is a sizeable jump from the same time frame last year, which saw 104,000 crossings.
Until recently, the area has been a got-away sector. Migrants coming from Mexico have been jumping the wall at the border and traversing through the desolate and difficult region where there is no access to roads.
These migrants don’t always get counted in the total migrant crossing numbers as they evade authorities. More recently, migrants crossing into the Tucson Sector have been self-surrendering to Border Patrol, but many are still coming over the wall undetected.
The border wall has been a sticking point for many Republican lawmakers who want to strengthen border security. They believe the wall is the solution to the migrant crisis, but Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels tells NewsNation it is only part of the answer.
“People think the wall is the solution; the walls are a component of the solution. And sadly to say, the wall or any technology is only as good as the people standing behind it, standing witness,” Dannels said. “It makes it really challenging. I know the agents were challenged on that, very frustrated with that because their hope was to protect the country.”
Dannels and others from the sheriff’s department patrol the area, supplementing federal Border Patrol agents. He says he sees between two and ten pursuits a day, adding that these numbers are increasing.
Meanwhile, Congress is in a deadlock over a solution, but Dannels says the one thing that he knows for sure is that crossing the wall is a clear symbol of trespassing.