'Hear us out': Border mayors disclose their expectations from the next president.

As the sun blazed down on him while stuck in traffic on his way back to Arizona from a meeting in Mexico, Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado's top priority for the next administration was an increase in Customs and Border Protection staff.

""Legal crossers are taking two to three hours to cross the border, yet we're not providing adequate care for them," Maldonado stated."

The United States' border crisis has been extensively covered by videos of people illegally crossing the border, including climbing fences, swimming through rivers, and steering boats onto beaches.

Although situated in Tucson, Arizona's Nogales sector experienced a surge in migrant encounters earlier this year, Maldonado stated that it did not witness as significant an influx of border crossings as other regions.

A continuous flow of American and Mexican individuals seeking to lawfully enter the border for employment, education, leisure, and trade purposes exists.

"Maldonado stated that these individuals, who will enter our country and depart with funds, are the ones we've been neglecting due to our preoccupation with illegal immigration."

The southern border has unique requirements, as stated by Maldonado, which is why mayors emphasize the importance of the next presidential administration visiting it.

"Dr. Victor Treviño, the mayor of Laredo, Texas, stated that people in Washington are making policies a thousand, 2,000 miles away. He emphasized that they serve on the front lines and if they come here and listen to them, it might help them."

Mayor Nicholls met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss a surge of border crossings near Yuma and left the meeting with more resources. Following the meeting, Trump implemented his "Remain in Mexico" policy, which significantly reduced illegal entries.

Despite Vice President Harris being assigned to tackle the root causes of Central American migration, requests for policy changes have not been received by Biden or Harris.

Since there wasn't much done under the term 'border czar,' it has become more of a political liability, causing the White House to distance Harris from the informal title, as Nicholls explained.

In Biden's first year, there was a significant increase in illegal immigration, with crossings reaching 1,734,686, compared to the annual migrant encounters ranging from 303,916 to 851,508 during Trump's tenure.

In 2023, border encounters reached 2.5 million, and with three months remaining in fiscal year 2024, they have already surpassed 1.8 million.

Recently, all three border mayors reported a notable decrease in illegal crossings.

In Laredo, Treviño stated that we no longer observe a significant number of migrants crossing.

Biden's new border policies, implemented in June, were credited by him for much of the decrease.

Since Biden took office, the measures have been put in place to limit asylum eligibility and simplify the process of removing individuals who entered the country illegally. This month, the number of encounters at the southern border reached its lowest point since Biden assumed office, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Biden accused Republicans of blocking bipartisan border legislation earlier this year, while Republicans criticized the move as a "political stunt" and "cheap" ploy to gain support before the election.

Nicholls said, "The frustration here at the 11th hour is that the president has finally put an executive order that aligns with what we're looking for, but it's been years too late."

Nicholls hopes the next president will collaborate with countries like Mexico to create "incentives for them to be a partner in resolving this issue, rather than simply a transit point."

Nicholls stated that the next administration should implement a new policy on immigration, which is the root cause of the issue. While it would be ideal for Congress to address the border, lawmakers may take too long to act.

He proposed enhanced funding for federal agencies such as ICE and local communities facing emergency services overload due to migrants.

""The sustainability of programs funded for communities and nonprofits is not guaranteed, and we need to ensure that the numbers support their continuation," he stated."

Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.