Mythology Demythologized: Fentanyl and Immigration

Immigration Myth: Massive amounts of fentanyl are brought in by illegal immigrants.

Facts:

#1: Most fentanyl in the U.S. is produced by pharmaceutical companies in the United States (example, Johnson and Johnson in Cincinnati). Law enforcement officials near these production plants brace themselves for a spike in overdoses when these companies release their next batch as people with prescriptions will sell them to make money.

#2: 96% of fentanyl that comes from outside the United States is through ports of entry, that is where persons legally enter customs and are interviewed. Most fentanyl seized is from American citizens entering the country, much of it through trucks. Americans are scrutinized less closely than those from other countries, so using Americans as mules make sense.

#3: Drug cartels do not want to use immigrants as mules because when they present themselves seeking asylum they are rigorously interrogated and searched. To use asylum seekers is a good way to lose most of your product. And the last thing asylum seekers want to do is minimize their already slim chances of being granted temporary status by harboring illegal substances.

#4: Contrary to current mythology, the southern border is not open for anyone who wants to enter the country. Crossing at places that are not points of entry is dangerous and not that many attempt it.

#5: Title 42, which was supposed to reduce illegal immigration in actuality increased as ports of entry were closed off from asylum seekers to present themselves legally. Now that 42 is ended it is expected that number will drop and early indications are that it already has.

My thanks to Christy Staats of the National Immigration Forum for this information.