U.S. Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ) held a hearing on Monday in Sahuarita, Arizona, highlighting the experiences of local residents and their perspectives on living at the border.
McSally, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Maritime Security, featured two panels in the meeting that represented a wide spectrum of views. Featured speakers came from a wide variety of offices, including local law enforcement, border patrol, local government, business owners, non-profits, ranchers and border residents.
“The experiences shared today paint a very different picture than what we hear in Washington, D.C,” McSally said. “Contrary to what we’ve been told, the border is not secure, and the consequences of this failure are felt by our residents every day. That’s why Southern Arizonans’ perspectives are so important and must be part of the discussion to improve our border strategy. I’ve worked hard to move us to a fact-based discussion about securing the border and help rebuild faith in our system. I was proud to see the House unanimously pass my bill recently to conduct a full threat assessment of our southwest border and will continue to fight to advance commonsense solutions that make our communities safer and make sure Southern Arizona voices are heard.”
The meetings covered a variety of issues, including border patrol’s “defense of depth” strategy, local highway checkpoints, border infrastructure improvements and impacts felt by local residents.