PHX Reporter

Ariz. State Rep. candidate Pamela Carter (R-AZ-4) said that securing the Arizona-Mexico border is important to stopping the increase in fentanyl use in Arizona.

"Our open borders are allowing human trafficking, drugs (including fentanyl), gangs, drugs, and violence to pour across our border in record-setting quantities," Carter posted on X. "I believe we should secure the border, enforce Arizona’s laws, and stop the flow."

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.

Carter is a Scottsdale entrepreneur who previously ran unsuccessfully for Scottsdale City Council in 2022. She previously owned a sports medicine and weight training facility in Scottsdale, and her website said she has a master's degree in Communications and Biblical Studies.