At a hearing of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) used facts, logic, common sense, and motherly wisdom to completely destroy Republican talking points regarding the issue of drugs being smuggled into the United States via the border with Mexico.
Specifically, Porter pointed to the number of fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border and the jump in those numbers beginning in June of 2020.
Just last week CBS News reported on the issue:
For years, the Sinaloa Cartel controlled most trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border. But officials from DHS’ investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) tell CBS News they’re tracking an uptick in activity by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or CJNG. “They [also] have the contacts to China and then furthermore, the distribution networks to get things across the United States, the smuggling networks,” one official added.
But these criminal networks rely on the cooperation of Americans, too. Data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows that between 2017–2021, 86% of fentanyl trafficking offenders were American citizens.
Directing a question to Chief Border Patrol Agent John Modlin, who was testifying as a witness at the hearing, Porter asked if he could explain the reason for the surge in fentanyl seizures. Modlin replied he couldn’t and had no idea why the numbers had increased.
Porter then noted that increased seizures are actually a sign of success because the more fentanyl that’s seized, the less will be on American streets.
“For me, as a mom, that is a sign of success. I don’t want that fentanyl in this country. It is dangerous and kills people and makes our community dangerous. And to me, this is a sign that our Border Patrol and our agents… are doing their jobs. What I find interesting is, despite success here, what we are seeing is an effort to characterize seizures as failures.”
For months, Republicans have been complaining about the rise in fentanyl seizures. Which makes you wonder, Would they prefer the drugs not be stopped at the border and wind up in our communities? They just want something they can try to blame on the Biden administration, but their lies are catching up with them.
