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ElwoodBlues · M
According to the conservative Cato Institute,
Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers
❖ Fentanyl smuggling is ultimately funded by U.S. consumers who pay for illicit opioids: nearly 99 percent of whom are U.S. citizens.
❖ In 2022, U.S. citizens were 89 percent of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers—12 times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense.
❖ In 2023, 93 percent of fentanyl seizures occurred at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes, so U.S. citizens (who are subject to less scrutiny) when crossing legally are the best smugglers.
❖ The location of smuggling makes sense because hard drugs at ports of entry are at least 96 percent less likely to be stopped than people crossing illegally between them.
❖ At most, just 0.009 percent of the people arrested by Border Patrol for crossing illegally possessed any fentanyl whatsoever.
❖ The government exacerbated the problem by banning most legal cross-border traffic in 2020 and 2021, accelerating a switch to fentanyl (the easiest-to-conceal drug).
❖ During the travel restrictions, fentanyl seizures at ports quadrupled from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Fentanyl went from a third of combined heroin and fentanyl seizures to over 90 percent.
❖ Annual deaths from fentanyl nearly doubled from 2019 to 2021 after the government banned most travel (and asylum).
Again, all the above, as well as the paragraphs below, are from the conservative Cato Institute.
https://www.cato.org/blog/fentanyl-smuggled-us-citizens-us-citizens-not-asylum-seekers
https://www.cato.org/blog/us-citizens-were-89-convicted-fentanyl-traffickers-2022
It is monstrous that tens of thousands of people are dying unnecessarily every year from fentanyl. But banning asylum and limiting travel backfired. Reducing deaths requires figuring out the cause, not jumping to blame a group that is not responsible. Instead of attacking immigrants, policymakers should focus on effective solutions that help people at risk of a fentanyl overdose.
U.S. Citizens Bring Fentanyl Through Legal Crossing Points
That U.S. citizens account for most fentanyl trafficking convictions is not surprising given the location of fentanyl border seizures. In 2023, 93 percent of fentanyl border seizures occurred at legal border crossings and interior vehicle checkpoints (and 91 percent of drug seizures at checkpoints are from U.S. citizens—only 4 percent by “potentially removable” immigrants). In 2022, so far, Border Patrol agents who were not at vehicle checkpoints accounted for just 7 percent of the fentanyl seizures near the border (Figure 2). Of that 7 percent, CBP has testified the majority was seized from vehicle stops, again usually from U.S. citizens. Since it is easier for U.S. citizens to cross legally than noncitizens, it makes sense for fentanyl producers to hire U.S. citizen smugglers.
The DEA reports that criminal organizations “exploit major highway routes for transportation, and the most common method employed involves smuggling illicit drugs through U.S. [ports of entry] in passenger vehicles with concealed compartments or commingled with legitimate goods on tractor-trailers.” Several agencies including CBP, ICE, and DHS intelligence told Congress in May 2022 the same thing: hard drugs come through ports of entry.
Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers
❖ Fentanyl smuggling is ultimately funded by U.S. consumers who pay for illicit opioids: nearly 99 percent of whom are U.S. citizens.
❖ In 2022, U.S. citizens were 89 percent of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers—12 times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense.
❖ In 2023, 93 percent of fentanyl seizures occurred at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes, so U.S. citizens (who are subject to less scrutiny) when crossing legally are the best smugglers.
❖ The location of smuggling makes sense because hard drugs at ports of entry are at least 96 percent less likely to be stopped than people crossing illegally between them.
❖ At most, just 0.009 percent of the people arrested by Border Patrol for crossing illegally possessed any fentanyl whatsoever.
❖ The government exacerbated the problem by banning most legal cross-border traffic in 2020 and 2021, accelerating a switch to fentanyl (the easiest-to-conceal drug).
❖ During the travel restrictions, fentanyl seizures at ports quadrupled from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Fentanyl went from a third of combined heroin and fentanyl seizures to over 90 percent.
❖ Annual deaths from fentanyl nearly doubled from 2019 to 2021 after the government banned most travel (and asylum).
Again, all the above, as well as the paragraphs below, are from the conservative Cato Institute.
https://www.cato.org/blog/fentanyl-smuggled-us-citizens-us-citizens-not-asylum-seekers
https://www.cato.org/blog/us-citizens-were-89-convicted-fentanyl-traffickers-2022
It is monstrous that tens of thousands of people are dying unnecessarily every year from fentanyl. But banning asylum and limiting travel backfired. Reducing deaths requires figuring out the cause, not jumping to blame a group that is not responsible. Instead of attacking immigrants, policymakers should focus on effective solutions that help people at risk of a fentanyl overdose.
U.S. Citizens Bring Fentanyl Through Legal Crossing Points
That U.S. citizens account for most fentanyl trafficking convictions is not surprising given the location of fentanyl border seizures. In 2023, 93 percent of fentanyl border seizures occurred at legal border crossings and interior vehicle checkpoints (and 91 percent of drug seizures at checkpoints are from U.S. citizens—only 4 percent by “potentially removable” immigrants). In 2022, so far, Border Patrol agents who were not at vehicle checkpoints accounted for just 7 percent of the fentanyl seizures near the border (Figure 2). Of that 7 percent, CBP has testified the majority was seized from vehicle stops, again usually from U.S. citizens. Since it is easier for U.S. citizens to cross legally than noncitizens, it makes sense for fentanyl producers to hire U.S. citizen smugglers.
The DEA reports that criminal organizations “exploit major highway routes for transportation, and the most common method employed involves smuggling illicit drugs through U.S. [ports of entry] in passenger vehicles with concealed compartments or commingled with legitimate goods on tractor-trailers.” Several agencies including CBP, ICE, and DHS intelligence told Congress in May 2022 the same thing: hard drugs come through ports of entry.
ElwoodBlues · M
Raisin10 I see, you're going down the route of the genetic fallacy, rejecting the data because you disagree with a political position of the source. OK, let's get you some more sources.
The FACTS I presented are also available at many other places. Here are a few examples:
● https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/quick-facts/Fentanyl_FY21.pdf
● https://www.kff.org/quick-take/most-sentenced-for-trafficking-fentanyl-are-u-s-citizens/
● https://azcir.org/news/2024/08/23/are-undocumented-immigrants-the-primary-source-of-fentanyl-trafficking-across-us-mexico-border-no/
● https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/report-u-s-citizens-majority-of-2022-fentanyl-trafficking-cases/
Let's just quote US Customs & Border Protection:
In short, Raisin10, you are still DEAD WRONG!!!
It's still true that the vast majority of fentanyl is smuggled by US citizens for US citizens thru official checkpoints.
Lemme repeat that: the vast majority of fentanyl is smuggled by US citizens for US citizens thru official Ports of Entry.
The FACTS I presented are also available at many other places. Here are a few examples:
● https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/quick-facts/Fentanyl_FY21.pdf
● https://www.kff.org/quick-take/most-sentenced-for-trafficking-fentanyl-are-u-s-citizens/
● https://azcir.org/news/2024/08/23/are-undocumented-immigrants-the-primary-source-of-fentanyl-trafficking-across-us-mexico-border-no/
● https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/report-u-s-citizens-majority-of-2022-fentanyl-trafficking-cases/
Let's just quote US Customs & Border Protection:
More than 90% of interdicted fentanyl is stopped at Ports of Entry (POEs), where cartels attempt to smuggle it primarily in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens. CBP and HSI throughout the past two years have run operations that mobilized hundreds of personnel – CBP officers, special agents, import specialists, and intelligence analysts – through surges and deployments at Southwest Border POEs, airports, express consignment facilities, international mail facilities, container stations, and warehouses across the country.
https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/frontline-against-fentanylIn short, Raisin10, you are still DEAD WRONG!!!
It's still true that the vast majority of fentanyl is smuggled by US citizens for US citizens thru official checkpoints.
Lemme repeat that: the vast majority of fentanyl is smuggled by US citizens for US citizens thru official Ports of Entry.
Bhs123 · 36-40, F
@ElwoodBlues so
ElwoodBlues · M
@ElwoodBlues It's literally against the law for the US government to maintain a national electronic gun purchase database. We can't find out about people stockpiling hundreds of weapons until they have killed with them. SAD!
Firearms Owners' Protection Act (FOPA), 1986
Under 18 U.S.C. §926, the Attorney General is authorized to prescribe the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the GCA. Section 6 of FOPA amended Section 926 to prohibit a registry of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions. The pertinent language of Section 926 reads:
No such rule or regulation prescribed after the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners' Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions be established.
Under 18 U.S.C. §926, the Attorney General is authorized to prescribe the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the GCA. Section 6 of FOPA amended Section 926 to prohibit a registry of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions. The pertinent language of Section 926 reads:
No such rule or regulation prescribed after the date of the enactment of the Firearms Owners' Protection Act may require that records required to be maintained under this chapter or any portion of the contents of such records, be recorded at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States or any State or any political subdivision thereof, nor that any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions be established.