LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Democratic Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen are urging President Joe Biden to prioritize border security, specifically the flow of fentanyl, in his administration’s next budget.
In a letter to the president, Cortez Masto and Rosen joined 15 other Senate Democrats in “outlining the urgent need for robust funding for border security and drug interdiction efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl and similar illicit drugs being smuggled across the border through official ports of entry,” Cortez Masto’s office said in a statement.
As the 8 News Now Investigators have reported, the majority of illicit fentanyl and other drugs coming into the United States through the southern border are transferred through official U.S. ports of entry.
The drugs are often concealed in cars or as other items. Just a few grains of illicit fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin, can kill.
In the last fiscal year, border agents seized 240,000 lbs. of drugs at the southern border, including 1.1 billion doses of fentanyl, Cortez Masto’s office said.
“In order to meaningfully address the fentanyl crisis, law enforcement officers at our nation’s borders must be equipped to combat the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs,” the senators wrote in their letter. “We must also support the law enforcement agencies that are investigating these smuggling and trafficking crimes and working to disrupt the transnational criminal networks that threaten our country and our communities.”
Earlier this month, Senate and House Republicans blocked a bipartisan deal to increase border security. The bill, a first of its kind in decades, would have also given the president new powers to curb illegal border crossings.
In a statement last year, the Biden Administration said it was working with international groups, including the Chinese, to reduce the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States. The administration had requested an additional $1.2 billion for border security, which supported an additional 1,300 border patrol agents.
Cortez Masto has introduced legislation to curb the flow of fentanyl, specifically with the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act. It would increase funding to hire more border personnel and ramp up security to detect the illicit substance. Cortez Masto has also proposed funding for multiagency fusion centers along the border.
Rosen has also pushed for additional funding and technology to stop the flow.
The number of migrant encounters at the southern border hit a record 250,000 in December 2023, the government said. The number dropped significantly in January. In recent years, border agents have seen an increase in migrant families and young adults traveling alone.
Last week, the Associated Press reported the Biden administration was considering Trump-era immigration law to address border security. While a president can enact executive orders regarding immigration, Congress is the body that creates and passes laws.