POLITICS- Mark Lamb is running for the U.S. Senate position in the Arizona race. Our exclusive interview tells the story about the man running for the position of U.S. Senator and his plans should the people of Arizona elect him.
Lamb describes himself as a Patriot, a follower of the U.S. Constitution, and a devoted family man. He says he’s running for the U.S. Senate because he thinks he’s the right guy for the job.
Mark Lamb speaks at a campaign event in Snowflake, Arizona.
Candidate Mark Lamb-Qualifications.
Lamb explained his qualifications for the position as U.S. Senator. He says he brings the experience, has the correct temperament, and has worked with a large budget.
“I want this race to be about whether the voters believe I have the qualifications and the experience to represent them,” said Lamb.
“I’m not running against anybody; I’m running to represent Arizona and offer my experience to the people.”
Lamb has been responsible for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office budget that exceeds millions since he was elected in 2017.
Before Lamb there was Sheriff Paul Babeu. In 2012, the County Sheriff’s Office under Babeu was on pace to be $3.1 million over budget during the fiscal year, drawing the concern of the Board of Supervisors.
Lamb presently oversees a county the size of Connecticut and manages more than 650 employees within the department. The Sheriff’s Office operates with an over $39 million budget, which covers all aspects of the Sheriff’s Office, including the Detention Center. The Pinal County Sheriff’s office provides patrol support throughout the county.
In December of 2023 Lamb negotiated with Governor Hobbs because the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office didn’t receive a $150,000 grant for a holiday DUI task force. Lamb contended the issue with the director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and negotiated for a higher amount of $174,000. The grant assisted with DUI enforcement during the year and during holiday weekends. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office not only received the grant they exceeded the $150,000.
Candidate Mark Lamb-‘Day One’ if elected.
The Mountain Daily Star asked Lamb what he would do on ‘Day One’ if elected to help the people of Navajo County.
Lamb said, “I love Navajo County. We have 15 counties in this state, and they are all struggling. Hopefully, we can understand that the border issue doesn’t just affect Cochise County, Pima County, and Pinal County. It affects Navajo County at the top of the state. Not only that but what happens in Los Angeles also affects Navajo County. What comes in off the ports might make their way off the I-40 and through this county. We’ve got to do a better job as a federal government; they must secure the border, which means not letting people come in if they don’t have permission to come into this country.”
“If you believe in enforcing the rule of law, you’ve got to believe in saying if you come across the border illegally, you broke the law. Number two is the drugs coming through. That has a tremendous impact on America right now and in Navajo County,” said Lamb.
If President Trump is elected, he will have the authority as the President of the United States under immigration and naturalization to issue executive orders on ‘Day One.’
“I don’t love executive orders, but in this case, he can start from ‘Day One’ by instituting things like the “Remain in Mexico” program, taking the handcuffs off the border patrol, letting them do their job, and holding people who break the law accountable. We’ve got to adjust the asylum issues, get back into good graces, and work with Mexico on protecting our southern border,” said Lamb.
Lamb continued, “With all that, we must finish the wall. Those are all things that start on ‘Day One.’ As a Senator, I would support President Trump as he pushes forward those executive orders to undo all this debacle over the last three and a half years.
Candidate Mark Lamb-Immigration.
Lamb explained, “You need to start getting together with some people who say, How do we fix the immigration problem?”
“The immigration problem is going to have to be a joint effort. You’re going to have to have people from both sides of the aisle coming together and saying, ‘Let’s develop some commonsense immigration that will allow people, good people, to come to this country.’ Right now about 65,000 people a year are on a lottery system,” said Lamb.
“Good people with good skill sets would benefit our country, but this workforce is not able to come in. We need to create better pathways through immigration, and that will, in turn, also start to help. It will continue to help the border security piece. So, on day one, you have to get border security going,” said Lamb.
“I’ll always support more Border Patrol Agents. There are a lot of Border Patrol Agents right now that are processing people, they’re not out on the border because this administration’s policies tell them not to be out of the border. It’s basically grabbing everybody who came across the border illegally and processing them through as quickly as possible.”
During the first four months of fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol recorded more than 250,000 migrant apprehensions in the Tucson sector, the most of any region patrolled by the agency, according to federal government statistics.
Candidate Mark Lamb- The Trump Deportation Plan.
Pew Research Center estimated the number of undocumented migrants in the US was around 10.5 million in 2021. Pew’s estimate acknowledges the population may have grown as more people have tried to enter the US. As of 2021, it estimated about 3% of the US population and about 22% of the foreign-born population were undocumented.
Lamb said, “Take the emotion out of it. We have people in this country that broke the law.”
Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including two entry-related offenses: “Illegal Entry and Re-Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325
“If you don’t have permission to be here, you are held accountable and removed from the country. That’s what the law says. I’m the law guy. So yes, we should uphold the law. Is it going to be a difficult task? Yes, there’s going to be a lot of moving parts to it. We will have to engage with a lot of local law enforcement and sheriffs. ICE is going to have to ramp up its personnel to be able to do this,” said Lamb.
Lamb was clear about taking time and resources to fix the broken immigration pathways system for those seeking residency in America. People who wish to come to America through legal means and become active in the workforce should be given a chance to become Americans and seek a better life.
The primary is on July 30th, please find a voting location, and research all the candidates before casting your vote.