BP progress report
Wall being built, permanent migrant center planned
At a press conference Friday morning along the U.S.-Mexico border on the Colorado River near County 11th Street, U.S. Border Patrol Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Porvaznik spoke about a number of topics while standing in front of a section of 30-foot-tall bollard-style border wall that is currently under construction.
Among the topics Porvaznik was asked about during the press conference was the status of the investigation into allegations that a 15-year-old girl was reported to have been sexually assaulted by agents while in custody earlier this year in the Yuma Sector.
The allegations surfaced as part of a report published in July by NBC News, whose reporters learned of the supposed misconduct from a viewer tip. A story about it also aired on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
Porvaznik explained that the last time he spoke with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, he was informed the case was at a standstill because investigators have not been able to locate the girl, who is the alleged victim, and substantiate the claim.
“The allegations arose from a third-party,” Porvaznik said.
“As far as I know there has been no interview of the alleged victim. That person has not been found.”
Porvaznik also informed reporters that the Yuma Sector has received funding to replace 27 miles of old border fencing, and is currently in several phases of construction of 30-foottall and 18-foot-tall bollard style walls.
“As of today we have completed 20 miles of new wall east of the City of San Luis, and one mile of new wall along the Colorado River,” Porvaznik said.
The wall construction project currently underway along the Colorado River is to replace five miles of existing vehicle barriers with a new 30-foot-tall steel bollard-style fence.
Once completed, however, it will stretch from the Morelos Dam, which is roughly located at County 8-1/2 Street, at its northernmost point, all the way south to County 12-1/8 Street, where it will end.
Porvaznik added that the area was identified as one of the busiest illegal border crossing points in the Yuma Sector, and that the wall is expected to be completed sometime in 2020.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is also moving forward with its plan to build a new centralized processing center in the Yuma Sector, according to Porvaznik, and the project, which is being managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, is currently in the design phase.
The new $4 million to $5 million facility would replace the temporary softsided facility built in June, and is expected to be completed sometime next year. Once operational, the facility would be able to accommodate between 500 and 1,000 migrants.
Porvaznik went on to say that he didn’t expect the new processing center to be built before the end of next year, and that the sector will continue to use the temporary facility until then, but on a smaller scale.
“We don’t have the numbers we once had,” Porvaznik said. “This morning we had 26 people in custody and half of them were citizens of Mexico, and half from Central America, and (included) family units.”
CBP spent just under $15 million to set up the temporary facility for four months, which included the cost of meals, laundry and security, and can continue the contract to operate it on a month-to-month basis.
While the number of migrants caught illegally crossing the border is dropping in the Yuma Sector, Porvaznik said the number of apprehensions throughout the fiscal year overwhelmed the Sector’s capacity and resources.
“This was a border security crisis and a humanitarian crisis, unlike any other in our history,” Porvaznik said.
Yuma Sector agents made 84 rescues in fiscal year 2019, while its canine units assisted in the seizure and detection of more than $5.2 million in narcotics. Also 170 human smuggling attempts were detected and prevented.