Every Town is a Border Town

An unimaginable amount of fentanyl is pouring over our southern border, causing every town in the United States to feel the devastating effects of Democrats’ weak border policies. This deadly drug is coming predominantly from China and is being smuggled into the United States through Mexico. Now, we are in the midst of a crisis that has led to the highest number of drug overdoses in the history of the opioid epidemic. There’s no doubt that President Biden’s open border policies and failure to stand up to China have contributed to this crisis that is gripping our nation.

Throughout Biden’s first year in office, we’ve seen the direct effects of these poor decisions which are incentivizing further migration. In one year alone, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) encountered nearly two million illegal border crossings, which is a faster rate than at any time in recent history.

I heard firsthand the daily struggles CBP agents face when I visited Del Rio, Texas in October. Because of the record-breaking surge of migrants, they are overwhelmed and do not have the resources needed to firmly secure our border. Without proper support for CBP agents, illicit drugs will continue to flow into our nation.

Additionally, the lack of comprehensive immigration reform and the open border policies of the Biden Administration are enabling drug cartels and traffickers, allowing them to smuggle fentanyl into our country. Fentanyl and its analogs are easier to produce than cocaine or heroin, take less time to make, and are up to 20 times more profitable. Doses of fentanyl, as small as a pencil tip, are enough to kill the average American. In fact, fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.

Sadly, this drug is affecting families across America. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, surpassing car accidents, suicides, and COVID-19. Thousands of parents across the country have lost a child to counterfeit drugs that unknowingly contained fentanyl. It is our duty in Congress to serve justice to these parents and protect the lives of our children.

I recently signed on to Representative Bryan Steil’s (R-WI) letter to Biden expressing the importance of making fentanyl-related substances’ Schedule 1 classification permanent. This would ensure that law enforcement has the resources they need to combat this threat and take immediate and effective action against traffickers of this deadly drug.

I’m proud to live in a country that offers opportunities for those legally seeking to come to America. Sadly, the Administration has disincentivized that process, while creating a gateway for criminals to smuggle fentanyl into our nation. As we’ve seen, there are deadly consequences for the lack of security and open border policies. We must secure our southern border, enforce our laws, and halt the flow of this dangerous drug.