Mayor of Douglas looks forward to showing Kamala Harris around his Arizona border city

PHOENIX — The mayor of the Arizona city Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Friday afternoon is looking forward to showing her the reality of life on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We hope the vice president will be able to see what life is like on the border day in and day out,” Douglas Mayor Donald Huish told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Friday.

Harris is set to call for tougher border security measures when she speaks during what will be her second Arizona visit as the Democratic presidential nominee, according to campaign officials.

She will critique her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, for killing the bipartisan border security bill earlier this year.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, are joining the vice president on her trip to their home state.

Huish said he’s looking forward to showing her around the city during her visit.

“We want to be able to show her the positives, but we also want to show her some of the negatives we experience,” Huish said.

What mayor wants Kamala Harris to know about U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona

Douglas is a city on the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County with a population of around 15,500 people.

It is around 123 miles southeast of Tucson and is neighbors with the Mexican city of Agua Prieta.

Both Douglas and Agua Prieta have transformed from quiet communities to hubs of the immigration crisis.

“What happens here affects the entire nation,” Huish said.

How border crisis impacts Arizona city Harris is visiting

Douglas is uniquely affected by immigration issues compared to other cities and towns around the state, according to Huish.

For instance, Douglas isn’t flooded with asylum seekers. In fact, the migrants they encounter often aren’t seeking out Border Patrol agents.

“We are receiving and and capturing the 18- to 30-year-old males dressed in camouflage with backpacks trying not trying to be apprehended,” Huish said. “They want to be in the country and not be caught.”

He said he was grateful that the Harris-Walz campaign has involved him and other local officials while planning the trip to Douglas.

“Security is very important, and our local Border Patrol, like most places, is understaffed. It needs more help,” Huish said. “But we work very well together with all levels of law enforcement to make Douglas a very, very safe community.”

Harris is set to call for enforcing border rules and cracking down on transnational criminal organizations in her Douglas speech. She will also push for more resources for Border Patrol agents, according to campaign officials.

Huish said he has high hopes for Harris’ visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

“I would hope that she would developed a tangible policy to let us and then the entire nation know how she will approach this and what will be her policies to go forward,” he said. “I’m hoping it will be orderly immigration.”