PHX Reporter

State Rep. Matt Gress (R-AZ-4) said Americans have had it with the “do-nothing, anti-wall” Biden-Harris border policies that have “devastated communities here in Arizona.”

"Illegal immigration has devastated communities here in Arizona and across the country,” Gress told PHX Reporter. “Drug trafficking, human trafficking, high speed pursuits of smugglers terrorizing small communities.”

“It's adding up and Americans have had it with the do-nothing, anti-wall, and AWOL Biden-Harris administration,” said Gress. “We need to make a change in federal policy. Finish the wall. Add more boots on the ground. Give our law enforcement officers more tools to do their job and keep us safe.”

There have been 440,598 total encounters to date in the 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, reported Tucson Standard.

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. 

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.

CBP has reported almost 2.6 million illegal alien encounters during Fiscal Year 2024, while there were only 646,822 in Fiscal Year 2020. 

Elected in 2022, Matthew Gress is a Republican state representative for Arizona's Legislative District 4. He is a former public school teacher and budget expert with a background in local government and public finance. Gress has served as a school board member and the state's budget chief, focusing on education funding, border security, public safety, and reducing living costs. He advocates for increased teacher pay, election integrity, and fiscal responsibility. Raised in a small Oklahoma town, he now resides in Arizona with his partner Daniel.