Arizona GOP US Senate candidate Jim Lamon wants ‘remain in Mexico’ policy to stand

PHOENIX – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jim Lamon of Arizona said Friday that the “Remain in Mexico” policy needed to be made into law to secure the border.

Lamon told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show that he was “all in” for Mexico’s agreement to spend $1.5 billion to improve “smart border” border technology.

“Anything that can help,” he said of the agreement. “But if we don’t have the policy in place to return to Mexico … we must have it codified into law.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 30 that the Biden administration had the right to end the Trump-era immigration policy. Under that Trump-era policy, asylum-seekers have to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration courts.

“Before we do any business [in the U.S. Senate], get that southern border secure,” Lamon said.

The energy executive also wants to secure water for Arizona’s future but doesn’t think desalination, a $1 billion project Republican Gov. Doug Ducey favors, is the answer.

“Forget about desal -it’s hugely expensive … you can’t use it for agriculture, it tastes terrible,” Lamon said.

“It is much easier and much, much less expensive to bring water from the Mississippi via 35-foot pipeline that will solve absolutely our needs.”

He said the Bureau of Reclamation pitched the idea years ago.

“This plan would be about a third of what desal is. We’ve got very inexpensive water now, which is great, but unfortunately we don’t have enough of it.”

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