The border and fentanyl crises put our communities at risk

We are now two years into the Biden Administration and the crisis at our southern border has only gotten worse. Recent figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show record levels of border crossings with no sign of improvement while fentanyl is flooding into our communities. Moreover, the American people have not seen any signs from President Biden that he is serious about addressing this worsening crisis and bringing forth solutions to get it under control. The crisis at our southern border is a crisis that affects every community in Central Washington and around the nation — we must get serious about this national emergency.

To fully understand the severity of this crisis, we have only to look at the numbers. Since President Biden took office, there have been over 4.6 million illegal crossings over our southern border. Last month was the worst January on CBP record in over 20 years. For the 23rd month in a row, our southern border had more than 150,000 illegal crossings, with nearly 70% of these encounters being single adults. The numbers prove one thing: President Biden has put our communities at risk by failing to secure our southern border.

The administration’s open border policies have overwhelmed America’s border enforcement. The men and women on the frontlines of our southern border are experiencing record numbers of arrests, migrant deaths, narcotics seized, and suspected terrorists trying to illegally cross the border. While our border patrol agents are doing their best to stem the flow of illegal immigration, they are continuing to struggle to secure our border because they do not have sufficient resources to handle the intense surge in crossings.

One of the more shocking statistics is that over 1,400 pounds of fentanyl were seized just last month. To put this into perspective, a lethal dose of fentanyl is 2 milligrams. That means the equivalent of 317.5 million lethal doses of fentanyl — almost enough to kill every man, woman, and child in America — was being smuggled into our country in just one month. And those are just the drugs our border patrol agents found. This deadly drug is pouring into our communities and killing our families, our neighbors, and our children because our border patrol agents do not have the tools or funding they need to secure our borders.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for people ages 18-45; we simply cannot afford more inaction on this crisis. I have been a leader in the fight against fentanyl by pushing for legislation to classify all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. While this would go a long way toward stopping fentanyl from spreading in our communities, we must simultaneously secure our border and ensure our border patrol agents have the resources they need to fight this battle.

Border security is national security, and the crisis at our southern border puts the safety of every single community in America at risk. Up until now, the Biden Administration and Congress has had no clear solutions for this crisis. Now it is up to my colleagues and I to hold them accountable. My seat on the subcommittee on Homeland Security will allow me to continue leading to provide sufficient resources and funding to our border patrol agents, stop the flow of illicit fentanyl pouring into our communities, and ensure that our federal government will keep our citizens safe.