Kari Lake visits Arizona-Mexico border for first time as Senate candidate

NOGALES — Republican Kari Lake called for finishing the U.S.-Mexico border wall and seized on fentanyl smuggling Tuesday during her first visit to the Southwest border as a Senate candidate.

Lake called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and slammed his administration for the number of people arriving at the country’s southern border during her campaign's "Mama Bear Border Tour” near the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales. A couple of dozen mothers gathered behind Lake during the news conference.

Lake described fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction and said the drug is “pouring across” the border every day.

The majority of fentanyl at the U.S.-Mexico border is seized at official ports of entry, not in between them. Nearly 90% of fentanyl was seized at ports of entry in fiscal year 2023, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Lake acknowledged the fact but said she didn’t care how fentanyl was coming into the country.

“Some of it is coming in through ports of entry, a lot of it is coming in elsewhere,” Lake said. “We don't want the most deadly drug we've ever seen coming across our border.”

Fentanyl at the border: What to know about drug seizures at the Arizona-Mexico border

During the event, Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado touted the security of Arizona ports of entry, saying that Arizona ports have seized more fentanyl than the rest of the Southwest border ports combined.

Maldonado raised concerns about the ongoing migrant street releases happening in the city and the potential restrictions that may soon come with a new form of funding.

"We've got to have the funding to bus these people out," Maldonado said. "These people don't even realize where they're at."

The Border Patrol began releasing asylum seekers into southern Arizona communities in September as the agency reached overcapacity in its facilities.

Nonprofits and local governments have since stepped in to prevent migrants from being released into border communities without any transportation or shelter resources.

Pima County is spearheading humanitarian efforts in southern Arizona with funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program.

The county will soon have to transition to using the new federal Shelter and Services Program funding model, which will more heavily restrict what nonprofits and governments can use the funds for. The increased restrictions could result in more strain for nonprofits and border communities, such as Nogales.

On the campaign trail: Kari Lake digs in on 'rigged' election claims in court despite softer campaign rhetoric

Lake recently has begun to moderate her rhetoric about her loss to Gov. Katie Hobbs in Arizona’s governor’s race over a year ago. Still, Lake is entrenched in a legal bid to contest the election and hold a new one.

Lake continuously and falsely claimed that the 2022 gubernatorial election was “rigged” against her. During her bid for governor, Lake vowed to issue a declaration of invasion at the Arizona-Mexico border if she was elected.

Lake’s proposal would have violated U.S. Supreme Court precedent and a federal law that says only the U.S. attorney general can deputize states to take on duties typically reserved for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Lake’s visit comes as the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector remained the busiest corridor for migrant encounters along the Southwest border for the fourth straight month. The Border Patrol recorded 55,224 migrant encounters in the Tucson sector in October.

Encounters along the entire U.S.-Mexico border decreased for the first time in three months in October, per CBP data. In October, 240,988 encounters were recorded along the Southwestern border, decreasing by 11% from the month before.

In October, Lake traded words about the border with Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat who is also running for Senate, during a flight back to Arizona. Lake asked Gallego on X, formerly known as Twitter, if he still thought the border wall was racist after Biden announced he would be building more of it in Texas.

Gallego responded with a tweet saying: "Hey @KariLake we’re on the same plane! Just come back from first class to coach and we can chat. Happy to walk you through all my legislative work to deliver key resources to AZ’s border communities.”

The confrontation continued at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport where the pair’s conversation was partially captured.

Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @joseicastaneda.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake calls for finishing wall at Arizona border campaign stop