Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is pleased by the federal government’s infusion of border funds, which will prevent street releases for the time being, although the department would have preferred some border security legislation to go along with it. 

Pima County officials anticipated that they’d run out of funds by the end of this month unless the federal government took action. 

Over the weekend, the federal government approved more than $10 billion for various agencies and efforts at the border. Arizona will receive a few million dollars. 

“The governor is very relieved that Pima County can continue supporting the NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) and the local governments on the ground at the border who are doing so much of the work to ensure that our border is safe and secure,” Hobbs’ spokesperson Christian Slater said.

The funding won’t continue border operations forever, but it will preserve ongoing operations for the time being.

Slater added that the border bill Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) helped negotiate would have been more impactful to go with the funding, and it also would have been much better to get the funding sooner. 

“We believe that would have been very important in securing our border, but this is certainly a positive step in the right direction,” he said.

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