Cochise County Sheriff comments on JD Vance border visit, immigration numbers

PHOENIX — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance is visiting the Arizona border on Thursday — and he’ll have a personal tour from a sheriff with experience.

It will be a continuation of Vance’s trip to the Grand Canyon state, which started with a Glendale rally on Wednesday night. The event was his first campaign stop in Arizona since becoming Donald Trump’s running mate.

Vance criticized President Joe Biden’s border policies ahead of his stop to Cochise County, where he will meet with Sheriff Mark Dannels.

“We put together a welcome packet to Cochise County,” Dannels told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Thursday.

That packet includes border-related documents over the last three years, such as requests for help securing the border sent to Congress and the Biden-Harris administration.

“We’ll give him a tour of reality on our border,” Dannels said.

Why did Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance visit Arizona border?

Border security and immigration restrictions are some of the top priorities of the Trump-Vance campaign.

During his Glendale rally, Vance said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris exacerbated issues on the U.S.-Mexico border. However, these claims contradicted the fact that Biden encouraged Congress to pass a comprehensive border bill that would have helped hire more immigration judges and Border Patrol officers.

Republicans struck it down after Trump told them to block it.

Bisbee Mayor Ken Budge, who endorsed Harris for president, accused Vance of visiting the border for good publicity. Bisbee is a city in Cochise County with a population of around 5,000.

“The border bill would have made our country safer, made the border more secure, and it was supported by Donald Trump and JD Vance’s allies like the Border Patrol union – which endorsed Trump for president twice,” Budge said in a Thursday news release. “Now that it’s election time, JD Vance and Trump are here to campaign on the border – even though they’re responsible for blocking the most important bill we’ve seen to improve border security.”

Border sheriff responds to news that migrant crossings are down

Despite Vance and Trump claiming there is an “illegal invasion” over the border, authorities said on Wednesday Mexico border arrests are expected to fall 30% in July.

“We’ve seen an ebb and flow. There’s a little bit of a decrease,” Dannels said.

However, the sheriff doubted the data’s legitimacy. He said the numbers refer to migrants who approach Border Patrol — not people who try to evade law enforcement. To him, the issue is still pervasive.

He also said he feels Vance is taking his border visit seriously.

“I like that he came here. He came here within two weeks of being selected to be the possible vice president,” Dannels said. “He came here as a U.S. senator to see what’s going on our border.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.