Most headlines about Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema right now have to do with whether or not she’s running for reelection in 2024.
Sinema recently became an independent, leaving the Democratic Party and upending the 2024 race. Rep. Ruben Gallego announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination, and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is vying for the Republican side. The big question is whether or not there will be a third-party candidate in the race: Sinema.
She’s not saying yet.
The Show spoke with Sinema, from Washington, D.C., over the phone and began speaking on the bipartisan pieces of legislation she has been working on to tackle the mounting fentanyl crisis in our community.
Interview highlights
Sinema on the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which was just approved by the Senate Banking Committee.
We all have friends or family who've been affected by this fentanyl crisis. And as chair of the Board of Management Subcommittee, I've been working on this issue and, and we know how cartels are smuggling fentanyl into our communities and destroying life.
So, this legislation we passed out of the Banking Committee this week. The FEND Off Fentanyl Act strengthens our response to the fentanyl crisis and cracks down on the flow of fentanyl into Arizona. So, the first thing our bill does is require the Treasury Department to deploy sanctions and resources. That's how we target the criminal cartel's funding. And then we follow the money trail to make it harder for the traffickers to engage in money laundering to hide their crime. ... We know that their cartels are running this fentanyl operation, not because they care about a particular drug, but because they care about money. This is a business for them. We often know that fentanyl has become a scourge across the country. So, by following the money and cracking down on money laundering and and sanctioning them, that's how we'll stop the flow of fentanyl.
We didn't see the massive surge of migrants that many expected after the end of Title 42, but we are seeing yearslong processing times for asylum cases, and there is a massive immigration court backlog. How you think this is best approached now that Title 42 is gone?
Well, first I think it's important to note that while the country may not be seeing a huge unexpected flow of migrants into the U.S., our border communities in Arizona are managing this crisis every single day, and there are increasing levels of migration.
The number of folks who come across the border today is three or four times as high as it was several years ago. So this crisis isn't new. It's been made progressively worse each year — and after each administration has failed to take action. So we are in a crisis in southern Arizona. Our mayors, our sheriffs and the folks who work so bravely on our borders are overwhelmed with these numbers. And I continue to lead delegations of members of Congress and senators down to Arizona southern border, so they can see firsthand the challenges that we're facing and discussing real solutions. So I'm staying focused on actual solutions to help change the problem for the long term.
What do you make of the changes that the Biden administration has put in place to try to mitigate the end of Title 42?
Well, first of all, seeking asylum in the United States is a long protected right. Changing the mechanism through which individuals do it by requiring them to apply for it in their own country or in a safe third country along the way to the us mm-hmm. Has impact on individuals, private liberties or freedoms. What it does do is create a more orderly, safer system that helps prevent the worst of the humanitarian crisis that we've had migrants experiencing these last several years with an unchecked, unruly process.
Are you planning on running for reelection in 2024?
You know, that's not what I'm here to talk about today, Lauren. I'm 100% focused on the work of Arizona and the results that I'm continuing to deliver for our constituents. There'll be time to talk about politics later, but right now Arizonans want to know what I'm doing to actually make their lives a little bit easier.
Do you know when you will decide?
You know, I'll have something to say about that when the time is right, Lauren.
