The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Government Operations and Border Management will hear testimony from two southern Arizona mayors Wednesday on the effects on increasing migration on their border communities.
Sierra Vista Mayor Clea McCaa and Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls will share their experience as leaders in border communities.
Also in attendance will be Francisco Garcia, Pima County Deputy County Administrator and Chief Medical Officer.
WATCH SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING LIVE starting at 11:30 a.m. local time:
McCaa attended a border roundtable with Congressional and local leaders in April. The discussion, led by Sen. Kyrsten Sinemawho also chairs the subcommitteelargely focused on the cartels’ recruitment of teenage drivers through social media platforms.
McCaa called attention to high-speed driving through neighborhood streets, saying it was becoming a quality of life issue in Sierra Vista, affecting his own family:
“I represent almost 50,000 people in Sierra Vista. And one chase…ended up, no more than what500 feet from a school zone? It went through the school zone. And hit a bicyclist.” McCaa said that crash happened near his mom’s house, making the issue a deeply personal one for him.
“I hear it every night. Just cars, cars, cars. I know it’s a chase. And I’m just waiting for Chief [of Police Adam Thrasher] to call my phone and say ‘hey sir we got another fatality,” McCaa told the roundtable.
“It’s justI don’t know what to do. Chief does an awesome job. Sheriff [Mark Dannels] does an awesome job. But we just need help.”
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