PHX Reporter

Ariz. State Rep. Matt Gress (R-AZ-4) said that securing the Arizona-Mexico border is important for safe neighborhoods in his district.

"To truly secure our neighborhoods, we need to start by securing our border," Gress posted on X. "I proudly voted for the Secure The Border Act, which includes tougher penalties for fentanyl dealers, stronger support for our law enforcement, and stricter identity requirements to receive public benefits."

"Let's actually do something about our border," said Gress. 

The "Secure the Border Act" will be on the Arizona General Election ballot this November. It would classify illegal entry into the U.S. as either a misdemeanor or felony, giving local law enforcement the authority to arrest illegal aliens, and would allow courts to issue orders for individuals to return to their country of origin.

The legislature put the measure on the ballot after Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.) vetoed a bill that would enact the same measures through the legislative process. It passed on a party-line vote, with every Republican supporting the measure.

There have been 440,598 total encounters to date in Arizona's Tucson Sector during fiscal year 2024, with 247,483 of these encounters being from citizens of Mexico, 80,709 from Guatemala, 3,386 from Honduras, 3,160 from El Salvador, and 105,860 from citizens from other countries.

During fiscal year 2024 to date, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has arrested 41,780 illegal aliens who have previous criminal convictions or who are wanted by law enforcement.

That’s according to an analysis of CBP Data conducted by Tucson Standard.

15,503 of these arrests have been made by the U.S. Border Patrol, and 26,277 of these arrests have been made by the CBP’s Office of Field Operations. The CBP’s 2024 fiscal year runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

Nationwide, almost 2.6 million illegal aliens have been encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Fiscal Year 2024, according to a CBP report. There were only 646,822 illegal alien encounters in Fiscal Year 2020, during which the Biden-Harris Administration took office.

Vice President Kamala Harris was appointed by President Joe Biden on March 24, 2021 “to lead efforts to stamp migration across the U.S.-Mexico border.”

Since Harris’ appointment, the “surge” of illegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly the Southwest portion of the U.S., has grown worse.

A former schoolteacher, Gress has represented Arizona's 4th legislative district since 2022. Prior his election to the state legislature, Gress also worked as Director of the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting under Governor Doug Ducey.  Gress attended the University of Oklahoma and earned his Masters of Public Administration from Syracuse University.