Keystone Today

The powerful drug fentanyl continues to be a deadly problem in the U.S. and while there are a number of reasons for the rise in the smuggling of the drug, some are looking to the top and turning their heads to President Joe Biden’s border policy.

“President Biden’s open-border policies are incentivizing drug smuggling that allows poisonous fentanyl to flood across the southern border and endanger our communities,” House Republicans tweeted on June 29, linking to a Fox News article about two drug traffickers arrested for 150,000 fentanyl pills.

WCHS reported that the Tulare County High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Unit were called to assist in the arrest of two alleged drug smugglers from Washington. They found 150 packages with 1,000 fentanyl pills. The pills are sold for about $5 apiece, bringing this to $750,000 worth of fentanyl. This is reportedly enough to kill millions of people. Fox News reported that the two men were charged with possession, transportation and sale of illegal drugs, but they have been released.

CBS News reported that last week Barstow Police Department and Alameda County Sheriff’s Department detectives obtained nearly 20 pounds of fentanyl pills from a vehicle in Barstow, California. Detectives said they had a street value of $350,000. Three men from Honduras were arrested and booked for possession of fentanyl for sale, and transportation of fentanyl with the intent to sell.

On the local level, a May 23 report by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General found that drug overdose deaths rose 16.4% in 2020 in Pennsylvania. This trend continued with 5,438 confirmed overdose deaths in 2021, which is a 6% increase from the previous year.

"Fentanyl has rapidly replaced heroin as the dominant opioid in Pennsylvania,” said Attorney General Josh Shapiro. “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 Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that in 2021 there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the U.S., which set a new record. National Center for Health Statistics data found that the number of deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl are higher than any other drugs. Fentanyl deaths went up 23% from 2020 to 2021, going from 57,834 to 71,238.

The New York Post reported that more than 90% of the 10,000 pounds of fentanyl seized in fiscal year 2021 occurred at legal border entry points in California and Arizona. This is where about 30% of migrants enter the U.S. daily.

The Biden Administration has announced plans to lift Title 42, which was a pandemic regulation used to quickly expel migrants at the southern border. In March ABC News said that the Department of Homeland Security is bracing for 18,000 migrants per day at the southern border if Title 42 were revoked.