Arizona Gov. Ducey says cartels using Uber-like system for human trafficking
Oct 28, 2021, 10:26 AM | Updated: 10:29 am
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, bottom right, was briefed by Border Patrol agents at the Tucson sector headquarters on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Twitter Photo/@dougducey)
(Twitter Photo/@dougducey)
PHOENIX – Cartels in Mexico are using an Uber-like system as part of their human trafficking operations at the border, according to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.
Ducey told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Thursday that was among the things he learned during a briefing the previous day at the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector headquarters.
“One real eye-opening thing that we learned yesterday is that the cartels are using social media to pick up folks that have been trafficked over the border,” he said.
“They’re actually offering American citizens cash on the spot if they’ll deliver people from border drop-off points, like an illegal Uber into the state.”
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The Tucson sector covers 262 border miles and has approximately 3,700 agents working in nine stations, according to the governor’s office.
“These are terrific people,” Ducey said. “It’s amazing to me that they’re able to keep the morale up.”
Ducey said federal restrictions on border agents have “basically handcuffed” them, making it easier for cartels to get away with illegal activity.
“Limiting where they [agents] can go and what they can do is basically a signal to cartels on how they can get drugs, child sex trafficking and human trafficking across the border,” Ducey said.
Ducey said he plans to work with the Arizona Legislature on ways to make the state “an unwelcoming place for illegal activity,” although it “would be just so much more helpful if we had a partner in the federal government.”
Ducey, a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s border security policies, joined a group of Republican governors earlier this month urging a new approach and proposing a 10-point plan to address the issue.
The plan included the continuation of Title 42, a public health policy used as a basis for expelling unauthorized migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They did change their policy on Title 42,” Ducey said Thursday. “That will be helpful, though there’s about nine other things that they could do to help to secure our border.”
