Tucson leaders are now preparing for the worst. They know Southern Arizona is seeing a larger number of migrants and people seeking asylum than any other region along the U.S. border. It’s time to expand the city’s emergency response team and broaden the plan for a looming humanitarian crisis, officials urged Tuesday.
City council leaders discussed the plan: a heightened state and federal appeal — aimed at Gov. Katie Hobbs and congressional leaders — and collaborating with neighboring border regions in Texas and California. They are focusing on the ticking deadline: In less than a month, federal funding ends and with it goes support for Pima County’s system for sheltering and moving thousands of humans a day on to their next destination after crossing the border.
Everything is on the table, including busing people to Phoenix where transportation and resources are more readily available.
Mayor Regina Romero spoke of the federal and state government’s responsibilities in alleviating the strain on city resources as more people come through the Southern Arizona border seeking asylum.
“It shouldn’t be Tucson and Pima County left holding the bag,” Romero said.
The conversation at Tuesday’s council study session came as U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson sector has faced the highest number of migrants crossing — 250,611 — in the U.S. from October through January. That’s about 50% more than the Del Rio sector in Texas and nearly 110% more than the San Diego sector in California, the regions with the next largest share of crossings, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics.
Savannah Martinez, Tucson’s emergency manager, said the expansion of the region’s emergency management team will be timed to start in anticipation of federal support for humanitarian aid ending on March 31.
Pima County leaders met in February and decided to stop providing shelter to asylum-seekers if the federal funds run out.
Since 2019, the county has partnered with Catholic Community Services to provide shelter, transportation, food and medical care to asylum-seekers. These individuals and family members are legally processed at the U.S. border and are brought to the Casa Alitas Welcome Center in Tucson for typically about 48 hours before moving on to parts of the country where they have family or sponsors. Up until now, the program has been funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Tucson’s emergency team currently includes Pima County’s counterpart and the city plans to begin working with the county’s health and public safety departments.
“Having embedded their feedback and capabilities will enhance response plans,” Martinez said.
She asked the council and mayor to keep in mind that inaction may not be financially sound.
“Doing nothing may cost more than dedicating some services and some dollars at the end of the day,” she said.
Martinez said they’re developing several plans with different levels of involvement to compare which approach would least impact the city budget and resources. She said they’re consulting with El Paso and San Diego’s emergency managers in developing Tucson’s plan.
The emergency management team is also developing a joint communication strategy to inform community members what they should and shouldn’t do. Martinez said they’re weighing an alternative drop-off location for asylum-seekers trying to leave Tucson.
“Dropping folks off at the bus station is not appropriate and not ideal,” Tucson City Manager Michael Ortega said.
Ortega said Romero and Pima County Board of Supervisors Chair Adelita Grijalva are working on three joint letters to state and federal officials about the need for assistance after federal funding is discontinued.
Cochise, Santa Cruz, Yuma and Pima counties are co-signing one of these letters that will be sent to the entire Arizona congressional delegation, Ortega said. Another letter is on behalf of San Diego, San Diego County, Tucson and Pima County to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson. The final letter is for Gov. Hobbs to involve her state leadership in solving the challenges Tucson and Southern Arizona are facing.
Martinez said Casa Alitas plans to continue its work in a reduced capacity, prioritizing families and those with medical needs once federal funding runs out.
“We’re actively looking at what other organizations would be able to play a role in this as well,” she said.
They continue reaching out to organizations, such as the Red Cross, for local support, as well as other cities like El Paso for guidance in how to handle the nearly 1,000 migrant men, women and children a day dropped off in border patrol’s Tucson sector, which stretches 262 miles across Southern Arizona from the Yuma County line to the New Mexico State line.
“Even though our community is incredibly generous, we need the help and it should be distributed in a way where the entire state is involved,” Romero said.
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