Border Patrol agents in eastern Arizona arrested more than 2,000 illegal immigrants on Tuesday, including a large group of African men, that the federal government has begun to release onto the street, the Washington Examiner has confirmed.

An Arizona congressman who represents a district along the state's border with Mexico privately pleaded with the Biden administration in a letter Wednesday to stop the street releases before communities fall into a crisis similar to sanctuary cities, including New York City and Chicago.

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First-term Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) alerted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday that Border Patrol had begun dropping off immigrants directly onto the street.

"Today, there have been over 200 migrants released onto the streets of southeastern Arizona border communities in the Tucson Sector alone," Ciscomani wrote in a letter to Mayorkas obtained by the Washington Examiner.

Ciscomani charged that the Department of Homeland Security has begun transporting by bus immigrants across rural Cochise County to be processed and then released into small towns that do not have resources to respond.

"These areas are not equipped to deal with this influx," Ciscomani wrote in the letter. "I have personally heard from local elected officials of both parties regarding their concern over these actions and the implications on their communities."

The 2,000 arrests Tuesday are an increase compared to the 10,700 arrests in the Tucson region alone last week.

Ciscomani said the street releases were a result of low "capacity" at nonprofit groups, local government shelters, and federal facilities.

However, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official authorized to speak with the press said Border Patrol is adhering to care protocols that bar the government from detaining an individual for more than three days.

"Detainees should generally not be held for longer than 72 hours in CBP hold rooms or holding facilities," the CBP National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search state. "Every effort must be made to hold detainees for the least amount of time required for their processing, transfer, release, or repatriation as appropriate and as operationally feasible."

Illegal immigrants who are not immediately processed for expedited removal may end up being released with a notice to appear in court for removal proceedings years in the future. The street releases are not solely the result of overcrowded facilities but to meet detention protocols, CBP said

Illegal immigration on the western side of Arizona has for the past few years been where Mexican smuggling organizations have smuggled people from all over the world into the United States, not just people from Latin America.

But in recent weeks, Tucson on the state's eastern side has begun to see immigrants from Senegal and Mauritania increasingly arriving in the region.

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"You must do what’s necessary to stop the flow, and the current status-quo cannot stand," Ciscomani said.

The congressman invited Mayorkas to Cochise County for a tour and requested responses by Sept. 20.