Antonio Graceffo
An estimated 20 million Americans are addicted to drugs. Fentanyl, which alone accounted for two-thirds of the 110,236 overdose deaths and killed over 73,000 Americans in 2021, is now the main narcotic that Mexican cartels are smuggling into the United States.
The flow of illegal drugs through the southern border is the largest security threat to our nation and the one that the Biden administration is doing the least about.
More drugs are being seized at the southern border than anywhere else in the nation, with over 5,000 pounds seized in San Diego alone. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that Mexican cartels are increasingly importing precursor chemicals from China and manufacturing fentanyl to be sold in the United States.
U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman described fentanyl as a “national crisis” in an August 2022 report.
“The amount of fentanyl we are seizing at the border is staggering. The number of seizures and fentanyl-related deaths in our district are unprecedented.”
According to the DEA, 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized in 2022. Additionally, the agency confiscated nearly 131,000 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 4,300 pounds of heroin, and 444,000 pounds of cocaine.
Even though Mexican drug cartels are now making more money from fentanyl than other drugs, they also make a lot from human trafficking. The Biden-era open borders policies have enabled the cartels to smuggle people into the United States in greater numbers.
By some estimates, cartels are earning as much as $13 billion per year through human trafficking, and use this money to hire more soldiers for their narcotrafficking operations. In April 2022, the Department of Homeland Security launched the “Counter Human Smuggler” campaign, whose $60 million worth of funding is a small fraction of what the cartels earn.
Cartel violence against innocent civilians is becoming increasingly common. Over the past six years, an estimated 140,000 Mexicans have been murdered, largely by cartels, and the situation is getting worse. In Celaya, one of Mexico’s most dangerous cities, there were 800 homicides in 2020, a sharp increase from the 80 homicides reported in 2010. In 2021, homicides dropped to 640 cases, but hundreds went missing. The actual number of those killed may be much higher.
The more cartel violence there is in Latin America, the more innocent people die, and the more people want to flee to the United States, exacerbating the problem.
Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn introduced the DHS Illicit Cross-Border Tunnel Defense Act to combat the 230 tunnels beneath the U.S.–Mexico border used by drug cartels and human traffickers. However, the bill has yet to be signed into law as governors of border states feel the stress of a flood of illegal aliens and drugs. California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom criticized President Joe Biden’s border policies, warning that an immigration crisis could break his state if Biden allowed Title 42 to expire. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott agreed, saying that if Title 42 expired, the southern border would be a scene of “total chaos.”
Both governors received an early Christmas present when the Supreme Court temporarily extended the immigration restrictions. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman responded by saying that with Title 42 in place, those who attempt to enter the country illegally will be returned to Mexico. He also asked Congress to boost funding for border security.
The governor who appears to be taking the most proactive stance on illegal immigration and the coinciding crime is Abbott, who inaugurated Operation Lone Star. This operation is a coordinated effort between the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Texas National Guard to secure the border. The goal is to stop cartels, criminals, drug and weapon smuggling, and human trafficking.
So far, Operation Lone Star has led to the apprehension of 336,000 illegal aliens and 23,000 criminal arrests, with 20,000 of those being felony arrests. In 2022, DPS seized more than 354 million doses of fentanyl.
Pew Research found that Republicans support border security and the deportation of illegal immigrants, while Democrats are more concerned about creating paths for those in the country illegally to achieve legal status. Drug and human trafficking won’t be stopped by programs designed to help illegal aliens obtain work permits and green cards. If anything, that will invite more illegal immigration.
For the time being, Title 42 will remain in place, although Biden believes that the rule somehow makes the border situation worse. The Supreme Court will begin hearings regarding the repeal of Title 42 on March 1.
While Title 42 remains in place and provides some protection against illegal immigration, as long as illegal immigration is possible, cartels will continue to make money smuggling drugs and people into the United States. The funding is then used to purchase weapons and soldiers, which leads to more innocent people in Mexico and Latin America suffering and dying.
This article was originally published by the Epoch Times on January 9, 2023 and Updated: January 11, 2023
