Keystone Today

The fentanyl crisis has become a major issue as overdose deaths have been on the rise nationally and locally.

There was a huge increase in the amount of fentanyl and cocaine seized in fiscal year 2021, Customs and Border Protection reported in January. Officers at eight ports of entry in South Texas said that there was a 1,006% increase in fentanyl seized between Oct. 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021.

CBP statistics found that over 90% of the 10,000 pounds of fentanyl that were seized during that time period happened at the border crossing points in Arizona and California, the New York Post reported. These points are where approximately 30% of migrants come into the country.

"The cartels are exploiting Biden's open border and poisoning our country with fentanyl. #BidenBorderCrisis," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on Twitter.

In 2021, there were approximately 107,622 deaths attributable to drug overdoses in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The data showed that the number of deaths related to synthetics opioids, which include fentanyl, far outpaced all other drugs. Fentanyl climbed 23% compared with 2020, going from $57,834 to $71,238.

"Border patrol agents are too busy dealing with the influx of migrants, and are not really focused on looking for fentanyl," Robert Almonte, a Texas-based security consultant and former deputy chief of the El Paso Police Department, told the New York Post, "Border agents are not getting the support they need from the federal government to stop the flow of fentanyl, which is killing thousands of Americans."

Fentanyl on its own is generally produced in the form of a pill, though it is also used to lace drugs such as cocaine and heroin, the New York Post reported.

"We're losing more people to fentanyl overdoes than guns, suicides and traffic accidents combined," Almonte said. "This is a crisis. I get mad because I don't think people get mad enough about what's happening."

Drug overdose deaths in Pennsylvania went up 16.4% throughout 2020, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office said in a release. It continued this trend to reach 5,438 deaths in 2021, which was another 6% increase.

"Fentanyl has rapidly replaced heroin as the dominant opioid in Pennsylvania," Shapiro said in the release. "Last year, our Bureau of Narcotics Investigation seized more fentanyl than they had in the last four years combined. The rise in fentanyl has also contributed to a rise in overdose deaths. Last year, we lost 15 Pennsylvanians each and every day to a drug overdose. Law enforcement and policymakers alike must continue to do more to combat this crisis and devote additional resources to stopping fentanyl at the Southern border."

The 20.4 million counterfeit pills seized in 2021 represent enough fentanyl to kill every American, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported. These pills are often sold over the border using social medial platforms. The pills are designed to look like pills such as Adderall, Percocet, Xanax, Vicodin, Oxycontin and other prescription medications. Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered lethal, and these fake pills often have at least that, if not more.

President Joe Biden said he plans to lift Title 42, which was a former President Donald Trump regulation created early in the pandemic that has been used to expel migrants at the southern border, ABC News reported. If this is lifted, the Department of Homeland Security is expecting a surge in migrants — up to 18,000 daily — crossing the border.

U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays of Louisiana recently issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Biden administration from lifting Title 42, The Washington Post reported.