Law enforcement pushes back against Democrats’ claims about fentanyl and southern border

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Local and federal law enforcement officers are pushing back against claims made by Democratic members of Congress that the majority of seizures of illicit fentanyl occurring at ports of entry at the southern border is proof that Republicans are exaggerating the border crisis.

On Tuesday, ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, claimed the majority of fentanyl, 90%, was being seized at the southern border at ports of entry and that over 80% of those apprehended for smuggling it were American citizens.

“We’ve got to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country,” he said. “It’s a matter of life and death.” However, he said, “the vast majority of fentanyl coming into the country is seized at ports of entry, not from migrants traveling across the border on foot,” adding, “90% of fentanyl seizures were at ports of entry at vehicle check points and not between,” and “what’s more puzzling … is that 80% of people convicted of smuggling [fentanyl and drugs] were American citizens, not foreign nationals.”

Similar arguments were made by Democrats at a House Judiciary hearing on border security last week.

But Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin said Border Patrol agents seized more than 700 pounds of fentanyl in 2022, about half of which was in the field, meaning not at ports of entry.

“To give you an idea of the lethality of fentanyl, that’s enough to kill everyone in Arizona 21 times or basically half the population of the United States,” he said. Agents seized 52% at the port of entry and the rest in the field after “being backpacked across the border,” he said.

Former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey formed the Arizona Border Strike Force to provide state funds to local law enforcement to interdict increased crime stemming from the southern border.

In 2021, strike force members “seized over 700 pounds of fentanyl in one year, compared to 284 in the five years prior,” Jobe Dickinson, president of the MesaArizona-based Border Security Alliance, told The Center Square. “There are 4,500 pills in one pound.”

Please see FENTANYL on B4

Biden heckled by Republicans when discussing border, fentanyl

Border

Continued from Page A3 already been sued over. The president said that “Americans border problems won’t be fixed until Congress acts. If we don’t pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border … and a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, those on temporary status, farmworkers, essential workers.”

The president was interrupted by Republican members of Congress shouting, “Secure the border!” Biden also said, “Fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year” and was interrupted again by Republicans shouting, “It’s coming from China!” and “It’s your fault!”

His plan to address the fentanyl crisis, he said, was to “launch a major surge to stop fentanyl production and the sale and trafficking” by having “more drug detection machines” and greater inspection of cargo to “stop pills and powder [coming in through] the border,” as well as “working with couriers, like FedEx, to inspect more packages for drugs” and implementing “strong penalties to crack down on fentanyl trafficking.”

Texas congressmen who have called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to be impeached, including Reps. Chip Roy and Michael Cloud, blasted the president’s speech.

In response to President Biden claiming he needed Congress to give him funding for border security, Rep. Cloud tweeted, “WE HAVE. His administration just refuses to implement the infrastructure necessary to secure the border. Which is why DHS Secretary Mayorkas must go.”

Rep. Roy said President Biden’s speech was “not a state of the union but a state of confusion.”

Rep. Troy Nehls said that “stopping fentanyl starts with securing the border” and the president didn’t mention the “10,000 cartel drones detected crossing our southern border last year,” a fact testified to by a Texas Border Patrol chief from the Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also issued a statement, saying the president’s remarks “illustrated that states like Texas are leading the nation, and Washington follows.”

Gov. Abbott gave President Biden a 5-point plan to secure the border last month when the president was in El Paso, Texas, arguing the border could be secured immediately if the administration enforced existing laws. He hasn’t received a response, he said last week.

And President Biden’s plan to address the fentanyl crisis also falls short, Gov. Abbott said, especially since Texas law enforcement working through his border security mission,

Operation Lone Star, have “seized enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States.”

“Americans deserve decisive action from our federal government to stem the tide of this deadly drug entering our country, but in order to truly solve the fentanyl crisis, President Biden needs to do what Texas has been trying to do in his absence – secure our southern border,” Gov. Abbott said. “Once again, President Biden proved that Texas leads, and Washington follows.”

Texas Republican Reps. Ronny Jackson and Beth Van Duyne from north Texas were photographed shouting and pointing their fingers; other Texas representatives also expressed outrage.

Rep. Jackson, a former White House physician for former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, has repeatedly questioned President Biden’s mental and physical health and called for him to be removed under the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In July 2021, he first called for President Biden to be removed from office saying he was “OBVIOUSLY mentally incapable of leading during a crisis.”

After President Biden’s remarks Tuesday night, Rep. Jackson said, “Biden could barely read from the teleprompter. It was 90 straight minutes of either slurred speech or hysterical screams. This is an EMBARRASSMENT! Biden needs to RESIGN NOW!!” lines of text, approximately 630 characters; up to approximately 930 characters without a photo. Add $60.00 for each additional inch or partial inch after the first 1.5”; up to approximately 700 characters per additional inch. All Obituaries must be reviewed, approved, and prepaid by deadline. We accept all major credit cards by phone. Check or cash payments may be brought into our office located at 715 Anacapa Street.

*Early Deadline for Presidents’ Day: Obituaries publishing Sat, Feb. 18 thru Wed, Feb. 22, deadline is Thurs, Feb. 16 at 10am. The usual deadlines for Weekend and Mon editions are on Thur at 10am; for Tues’s edition it’s 10am on Fri; for Wed’s edition it’s 10am on Mon; for Thur’s edition it’s 10am on Tues; for Fri’s edition it’s 10am on Wed (Pacific Time). Free Death Notices must be directly emailed by the mortuary to our newsroom at news@newspress.com. The News-Press cannot accept Death Notices