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| Mesa Mayor Giles at left in the middle |
Giles, a former track start and personal-injury/accident law attorney, will be trying to score again for re-election in 2020. His political career hangs on re-inventing himself to a growing active mobilized Latino population in a more diverse Mesa.
That could be a challenge locally with his mixed history.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan met with several border state mayors in a closed door 90-minute meeting last Thursday, including Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls and Mesa Mayor John Giles, during a visit to El Paso on July 11, 2019.
(Photo: Courtesy of the City of Mesa)
According to this report there was a noticeable different of opinion from two delegations - a delegation of members of Congress and the delegation of mayors
A tale of two visits
> A congressional delegation less than two weeks ago left the border “appalled” at the way immigrants were being kept at a Border Patrol processing station in Clint.
> But on Thursday, a delegation of mayors from across the United States described the Border Patrol facilities they toured as “pristine, clean and well-stocked”.
‘Pennies on the dollar’
Congress recently approved a stop-gap $4.6 billion Border Supplemental Spending bill to deal with the migrant crisis. However, that only includes $30 million in reimbursements to local governments and nonprofits that have cared for migrants released from CBP custody.
". . . Giles, who serves as the co-chair for the conference's immigration reform task force, said the focus of his exchange with the Homeland Security chief centered on the impact that immigration and border policies are having on cities close to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Even though Mesa in Central Arizona is nearly 150 miles from the closest international boundary line in Nogales,, he highlighted how churches in his city, oftentimes smaller, poorer Latino congregations, have stepped up to take in migrants released from federal custody
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One week and a day later, and late-in-the-day on Jul 12, 2019, 8:08 PM
Mesa, Arizona Mayor John Giles describes how he says his community will be impacted by Trump's ICE raids
BLOGGER NOTE: Mesa was not on the list, There were no raids
BLOGGER NOTE: Mesa was not on the list, There were no raids
The 06:11-minute ABC15News video can be viewed > click here
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“We were all actively involved in lobbying our congressional delegates to see the supplemental funding take place. However, $30 million is really going to be reimbursing communities like mine, pennies on the dollar for the supplies and the manpower and resources that we’ve been asked to donate to this crisis in our country,” said John Giles, mayor of Mesa, Arizona, during a press conference Thursday afternoon.
Border city mayors say $30M from Congress 'pennies on the dollar' for cost of assisting migrants
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POST NOTE:
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan is holding discussions with leaders in Mexico and Central America to address the “root causes” of migration, such as crime and poverty.
POST NOTE:
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan is holding discussions with leaders in Mexico and Central America to address the “root causes” of migration, such as crime and poverty.
