Biden blasted by restaurant owner over border crisis and says it's turned 'family-friendly' desert town into hotbed of crime - after homelessness sleeping on the streets TRIPLED in five years

A Tuscon-area restaurateur slammed soft-on-crime policing and President Biden's open border policies for transforming his family-friendly neighborhood into a hotbed for crime. 

Grant Kreuger, owner of Union Hospitality Group, told Fox News that the decline of the Arizona hub has left him 'terrified,' and said the shift seemingly came when Biden entered the White House. 

'We've had more crime in my restaurant establishments over the last four years than we had in the previous 15 combined,' he said. 

Tuscon saw a 300 percent spike in unsheltered homelessness from 2018 to 2023, which Kreuger said has triggered a crimewave, including an alarming surge in random attacks on his own customers. 

Grant Kreuger, owner of Union Hospitality Group, spoke out over rampant homelessness and drug taking ruining the Tuscon area, leaving him and his customers 'terrified' 

Homelessness surged 60 percent in Tuscon from 2018 to 2023, with unsheltered homelessness increasing by a startling 300 percent in that time frame, a government report found 

The businessman said his restaurant was previously found in one of the 'nicer areas of town', but the surge in homelessness and crime has caused a sharp decline. 

In particular, Kreuger blamed weak border policies for allowing drugs to flood Tuscon, and said his own children are often confronted with open-air drug taking. 

'Quite frankly, it terrifies me for my own children to see this level of open drug use and distribution happen in broad daylight on our city streets,' he said. 

Kreuger added that he has personally spent tens of thousands of dollars on security because he says the police routinely fail to crack down. 

'It's gotten to the point that we often don't even report it to the authorities anymore, because we feel, quite frankly, that there's very little that they're going to do,' he said.  

'Our municipalities are currently not enforcing many laws on the books when it comes to public camping, when it comes to panhandling... when it comes to public urination, defecation or open consumption of alcohol and drugs.

'And the lack of enforcement of all these laws have made things tremendously worse here for us in the desert. 

'On top of that, the open border policies that we've had over the last number of years have brought in a tremendous supply of fentanyl into our community.' 

Tuscon has seen an alarming increase in drug taking in recent years, which Kreuger blamed on weak border policies allowing drugs such as fentanyl to flood the city 

A volunteer is seen helping a homeless woman in Tuscon, Arizona, in July 2023 

A government report published in May 2023 found that Pima County has seen an alarming surge in homelessness in recent years. 

The report found that over the five-year period, unsheltered homelessness - those sleeping rough on the streets rather than in shelters - increased by 300 percent. Homelessness in total rose 60 percent. 

During that time, Kreuger said the stretch of 100-mile riverwalk named 'The Loop' where his businesses are located has lost its family-friendly, safe appeal. 

'These areas on The Loop have become a major area for homeless encampments,' he said. 

'At one time this Loop was a tremendous benefit to both the community and our customers... Now it's a place where I would be afraid to take my friends and family.'

The crisis has directly affected Kreuger's restaurants, he says, as a number of customers have been physically attacked while dining. 

'I don't mean attacked as in verbally asking for change, but physically assaulted,' he said, adding there has also been 'many, many uncomfortable exchanges' that he never used to deal with. 

Kreuger said his restaurants are found in an area called 'The Loop' (pictured), which used to be one of the 'nicer areas' that he now said he is 'afraid' to take his children there 

Kreuger reportedly claimed a local anti-crime community initiative has been working to reduce the issue, such as adding anti-panhandling signs at intersections where homeless encampments are common, but said efforts are falling short of the mark.

'There's literally zero enforcement,' he said. 

'We're paying what we call a crime tax, the cost of the city and county's lack of enforcing the current laws that are on the books right now are essentially costing business owners like myself an awful lot of money. 

'It makes for situations that are substantially less comfortable for our patrons as well. 

'Nobody wants to be accosted by homeless folks in your parking lot, have your car broken into or find people living in the bushes or behind various facilities in the various commercial establishments that we have here in Tucson. 

'And so, it's really been a cost that's been borne by the private sector because of the public sector's inability or unwillingness to enforce laws already on the books.'