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More migrant families arrive in the Valley while Yuma declares emergency

Many are asking: What is to be done with the massive influx of migrant families coming in every week?

PHOENIX — Waves of migrants continue to come into the United States, arriving by busload in the Valley. On Tuesday, Yuma’s mayor issued an emergency declaration.

Over the last few months churches, charity organizations, and bus stops have been dropping off points for migrants awaiting court proceedings.

Helping With All My Heart bought a house just this year to help with the busloads.

“The crisis is very visible,” Martha Perez of Helping With All My Heart said. 

On Wednesday, the house the organization owns received six new families to care for. Sometimes the group receives a busload of 50 migrants. 

Many are among the thousands of asylum seekers crossing the border.

“The system is being gamed. Our border town is getting overwhelmed, even Phoenix is beginning to be overwhelmed,” Rep. John Kavanaugh, R-Fountain Hills, said. “They should not be coming at all. They should be put in federal detention facilities.”

RELATED: Migrant refugee: 'I was held for 5 days with my daughter, sleeping on rocks and in the cold'

Those helping out said while they could use more assistance, they do not mind providing additional help. 

“It’s a pleasure to help them,” Perez said. 

Some families are fleeing hardship. 

One migrant woman, who did not provide her name, said she fled Hondorus after her husband was kidnapped. 

She said it took 20 days for her to make it to the U.S. border with her children before entering the country. Her trip is not over, as she will travel to meet her cousin in Indianapolis in the coming days. 

In the first months of FY19, more than 17,000 migrants have been apprehended in the Yuma sector alone, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“We can’t allow the entire world into our country; we will collapse too,” Kavanaugh said.

RELATED: DHS to open tent-like facilities to mitigate migrant overcrowding at CBP processing centers

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