National Guard soldiers being sent to assist yCSO

Spokesperson Tania Pavlak confirmed on Friday that Arizona National Guard soldiers are being sent to Yuma County to assist the sheriff’s office in dealing with the surge of migrants entering the country illegally in this area.

While it is not known how many soldiers will be sent, or when they will arrive, Pavlak said Sheriff Leon Wilmot submitted a request with the governor’s office earlier this month for additional personnel to assist with what has become a border crisis situation.

Declaring an emergency, on Tuesday Gov. Doug Ducey said he is going to put 250 Arizona National Guard soldiers along the southern border, and that he intends to provide up to $25 million in initial funding.

“The situation in our border communities is just as bad – if

not worse – than the coverage we’ve been seeing,” the governor said in a prepared statement.

In the Yuma area alone, Pavlak said the sheriff’s office responds to an average of 5 to 10 desert deaths in a year. Last year that number increased to 16.

“We’ve already responded to four deaths this year, and expect that number to increase as the summer months are quickly approaching,” Pavlak said.

YCSO also works closely with the Yuma Sector Border Patrol daily to address human trafficking and narcotic smuggling. With this crisis being exploited by the criminal element, Pavlak explained overdose deaths have been on the rise Yuma County, from 31 in 2018, to 47 in 2019 and 61 in 2020.

“Our office has responded to 16 overdose deaths already,” Pavlak said. “With overdoses on the rise over the last few years, we need to get our deputies back into their public safety roles to keep illegal drugs out of our community.”

The Yuma Sector Border Patrol is responsible for 115 linear miles of international boundary with Mexico, and reports that over 19,000 illegal entrants have been apprehended in the past four months.

By comparison, a total of 10,979 apprehensions were made in 2020 and 59,397 in all of 2019, according to statistics provided to YCSO by Border Patrol.

Pavlak explained that the figures indicate the Yuma Sector Border Patrol has been overwhelmingly busy, and as such, deputies from the sheriff’s office have been needed to assist their agents from time-to-time.

Since March, YCSO deputies have encountered 150 illegal entrants; 131 being adults and 19 juveniles, and responded to five emergency 911 calls from individuals in the desert who were in need of medical assistance after having crossed the border illegally.

“This means our deputies are being pulled out to remote areas hours at a time to respond to this border crisis and taking them away from their primary responsibility to our Yuma residents and communities,” Pavlak said.

She said that the National Guard soldiers will be used in support roles – mainly administrative – which will free up more deputies for their primary duties, which is keeping the community safe and responding to emergency calls for service.

“Once we have boots on the ground, we can analyze what assets they bring to our agency and we can place them in specialized positions,” Pavlak said.