Mayor of Arizona border town says he is declaring ‘state of emergency’ over illegal immigration

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A mayor in an Arizona border town has revealed he's declared a "state of emergency" for his area due to surge in migrants at the US-Mexico border in recent weeks.

Mayor Chris Riggs of Gila Bend said he was forced to make the declaration after federal officials revealed busses of people would be dropped into his town of fewer than 2,000 residents for a few days until they could be placed.

"Border Patrol let us know that they were going to be dropping migrants that had been detained for 72 hours in our town, which we really didn't understand because we have nothing here," Mr Riggs said. "We have no charity organisations that can help, no nongovernmental organisations that a lot of the larger cities and towns do have to assist these people."

The town is located halfway between Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona, making it a stopway point for migrants.

When speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Mr Riggs said he's pleaded with the Biden administration to send federal assistance to the town to help with the increased immigrants, but he's received no response.

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"We do not have the resources to handle all of these people being dropped in on us by Border Patrol," Mr Riggs told host Neil Cavuto.

"We need help. I have requested multiple times for information for assistance. I'm not getting it," the mayor added. "So the only other alternative I have is to declare an emergency and really try to force people's hands to provide me with the resources that I need for what the federal government is doing to us."

The mayor said that he's heard the Biden administration was speaking to leaders in Phoenix and Mesa, but has heard nothing from federal officials in regards to helping his border town.

"I don't really hear from the administration," he said. "I know they talk with the mayors of Mesa and Phoenix. But as far as the border mayors, I haven't heard anything from them. So I doubt any of the others have either."

The Independent has contacted the White House for a comment on the situaiton.

Two months into Joe Biden's presidency, a growing number of migrants and unaccompanied children have arrived at the southern border of the United States, posing a significant challenge for his administration.

Federal facilities have reportedly filled at a rapid rate and problems have mounted of placing migrants, all at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic remains an issue for the country.

Republicans have seized on the problem and criticised the administration's reluctance to call the situation a "crisis". Among the backlash, Mr Biden has been accused of being unprepared for how migrants would respond to his administration altering immigration policies put in place under the Trump administration.

Mr Biden will be meeting with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and other immigration advisers on Wednesday to address the rise in migrants arriving at the border.