Great Lakes Wire

In just the last two weeks, there have been two major fentanyl seizures in the state of California – a problem some say is a result of Biden's open border policy. Last year's fentanyl death rate stands to climb this year, exacerbating the ongoing urgent opioid crisis in Michigan and across the nation.

On June 24, a traffic stop in Tulare, California led county detectives to conduct a vehicle search which uncovered 150,000 fentanyl pills belonging to two Washington state men, according to WCHS News. The value of the pills reportedly amount to $750,000, as officials say each pill sells for about $5.

After being taken to the Tulare County Jail, the two men faced charges of possession, transportation and the selling of illegal drugs. However, Fox News reports that these two men have been released back onto the streets, according to officials. Officials seized 150 packages with 1,000 fentanyl pills stored in each package – an amount significant enough to potentially kill several million people.

Late last week, detectives from the Barstow Police Department and Alameda County Sheriff's Department obtained nearly 20 pounds of blue fentanyl pills in plastic bags from a Toyota Camry in Barstow, California, CBS News reports. According to detectives, the narcotics had a street value of up to $350,000. Authorities arrested the three men in possession of the drugs, reportedly from Honduras, and booked them for possession of fentanyl for sale and transportation of fentanyl with intent to sell.

During 2021, there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States, according to provisional data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) – setting a new record. NCHS data shows the number of deaths related to synthetic opioids (fentanyl) far outpaced that of any other drug. Fentanyl deaths climbed 23% from 2020 (57,834) to 2021 (71,238).

According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan recorded more drug overdose deaths than ever last year. With 3,040 lives lost, the state broke the previous record from 2020, according to new provisional data from the CDC. The 2021 death toll represents a 9.3% increase in overdose deaths from the year prior.

According to the New York Post, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics show 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 – places where roughly 30% of migrants are entering the U.S. on a daily basis.

"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 wrote in a June 29 Twitter post.

In April, the Biden administration announced plans to lift Title 42, a pandemic regulation that has been used to quickly expel migrants at the southern border, according to a press release from CBP. In the event that this regulation is lifted, border patrol agents predict a major surge in illegal migrant border crossings. On May 20, U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays of Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction that stops the Biden administration from lifting Title 42.

According to ABC News, the DHS is bracing for as many as 18,000 migrants per day at the southern border in the event that Title 42 is revoked.