Sinema and Kelly secured $650 million for border communities in the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill
WASHINGTON – Arizona Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, and Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Troy A. Miller urging them to swiftly allocate funding awards from the $650 million for the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) included in the recently passed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 government funding package. The SSP funds the Senators secured will help prevent migrant street releases across Southern Arizona.
“The Department must now act quickly to allocate SSP funding to Arizona recipients, including Pima County, to avoid the disastrous outcome of a funding shortfall, which could lead to the release of legally processed asylum seekers onto the streets of Arizona border communities without support. In allocating the FY 2024 SSP funding, the Department must not once again fail Arizona communities,” the Senators wrote.
Sinema and Kelly have long urged DHS, FEMA, and CBP for the allocation of additional border funds to Arizona, most recently in December after the Lukeville Port of Entry closure worsened the crisis. Before Congress approved $650 million for the SSP program over the weekend as part of the government funding package, Sinema and Kelly called on House and Senate Appropriations Committees leaders to prioritize border communities in the DHS bill.
Click HERE to read the full letter.