Arizona border sheriff hopes President-elect Donald Trump will help cut down on immigration

PHOENIX — One Arizona border sheriff said there shouldn’t be worries over a surge in migrants on the Arizona-Mexico border ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“Things are kind of status quo,” Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Thursday. “Traditionally, the flow, the smuggling, the stuff we see on the border takes a lull during Christmas.”

However, the lull is over.

“But we’re seeing the uptick. They’re starting to pick back up,” Dannels said. “I was listening to my guys last night; they’re dealing with this.”

Arizona border sheriff on immigration reform in 2025

The cartels won’t stop trying to smuggle migrants across the Mexico border into U.S., Dannels said.

It all comes down to the profits.

“It’s not going to stop,” Dannels said. “They’re gonna try. Too much money involved.”

However, he’s optimistic about Trump’s presidency, saying that the Republican’s immigration policies will act as a deterrent to migrants who would otherwise try to cross the border illegally.

“They’re going after the terrorists, they’re gonna go after the gang members … the MS-13, the aggravated criminals that have been deported,” Dannels said.

He also said he feels confident that Congress will cooperate with Trump on his plans for immigration reform in 2025 and beyond.

“There’s 3.6 million asylum hearing cases, immigration cases, waiting to be heard, the highest in America’s history,” Dannels said. “There’s only 700 hearing officers.”

During the campaign, Trump faced sharp criticism for sabotaging the bipartisan border pill, which was negotiated in part by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. The bill would have paid for more immigration judges to hear those cases, among other things.

However, Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has his own plans to fix the problem, Dannels said.

“You can see the magnitude of that. They need to increase that. They’re looking at that, ” Dannels said. “They’re looking into that.”