(Central Square) — Local and federal law enforcement agencies are debunking claims by Democratic members of Congress that most of the seizures of illegal Fentanyl occurring at ports of entry on the southern Border are evidence that Republicans are exaggerating the border crisis.

On Tuesday, senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, said most of the fentanyl, 90%, was seized at the southern border at ports of entry and that more than 80% of those detained for smuggling it were US citizens.

“We have to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country,” he said. “It’s a matter of life and death. However, he said, “the vast majority of fentanyl entering the country is seized at ports of entry, not from migrants crossing the border on foot,” adding that “90% of fentanyl seizures were at ports of entry at checkpoints.” not between”, and “what is more mysterious… is that 80% of people convicted of smuggling [fentanyl and drugs] were American citizens, not foreign citizens.”

Similar arguments were put forward by Democrats in a House hearing on border security last week.

But Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Maudlin said Border Patrol agents seized more than 700 pounds of fentanyl in 2022, about half of which was in the field, meaning not at ports of entry.

“To give you an idea of ​​the lethality of fentanyl, that’s enough to kill everyone in Arizona 21 times, or essentially half the population of the United States,” he said. According to him, agents seized 52% at the port of entry, and the rest on the ground after they “crossed the border.”

Former Republican Governor Doug Ducey formed the Arizona Frontier Strike Force to provide public funds to local law enforcement to curb the rise in crime taking place on the southern border.

In 2021, members of the strike team “seized more than 700 pounds of fentanyl in one year, compared to 284 pounds in five years before,” Job Dickenson, president of the Mesa and Arizona-based Border Security Alliance, told The Center Square. “There are 4,500 tablets in one pound.”

The data does not include local police seizures across the state and federal statistics, he said.

“The amount of fentanyl that crosses the southern border, gets past the border patrol and local law enforcement, and ends up in the hands of our citizens is staggering,” he added. “Because Border Patrol agents can’t patrol the border while they’re processing illegal immigrants, more fentanyl is making its way further into the US. This is why the number of fentanyl seizures by local police and sheriffs is on the rise.”

Dickenson argues border insecurity affects law enforcement in Arizona. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hobbs’ plan to stop funding the strike group, he said, would undermine the ability of local law enforcement to crack down on cartel and criminal activity, including continuing to seize record amounts of fentanyl.

Dickenson also asked, “How does all this fentanyl get through ports, get past inspectors and high-tech vehicles, and then patrol officers stop traffic and confiscate record amounts in the field? We see how much is entering our communities,” he said, referring to those who smuggle it between ports of entry.

Maudlin testified that the agents of the Tucson sector are mainly detaining single men of military age in camouflage who work with the Mexican cartels. According to him, they are dangerous and include criminals who were previously deported and attacked border guard agents.

U.S. Rep. Kathy Porter, D-Wash., pointed to an increase in the amount of fentanyl seized at the border around June-August 2020, stating: “We had a presidential change in 2020 and some border policy changes, and what can we do here see. the facts show that we are seizing much more fentanyl.”

Presidential changes did not occur until January 2021, at which point President Joe Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mallorcas began to suspend implementation of existing border security and immigration policies, including halting the construction of the border wall, radically changing deportation and detention policies, attempts to end stay in Mexico and enforce Section 42 by creating new visa and parole programs, among other policies that have seen his administration sued multiple times by about half of all US states.

Porter, as a mother, said she “didn’t want fentanyl in this country. It’s dangerous and it kills people.” She also said that the record seizures were “a sign that our border patrol and our agents at ports of entry, where, of course, the vast majority of fentanyl is seized, are doing their job. What I find interesting is that, despite success, we hear about attempts to characterize seizures as failures.”

Porter quoted Republican members of Congress referring to the “Biden border crisis” and the amount of fentanyl seized. “For me, the fact that you are seizing these drugs is a success,” she told the agents who testified.

Terrell County, Texas Sheriff Thad Cleveland, a former longtime Border Patrol agent who served in Arizona, told The Center Square: “Every seizure of any drug or narcotic is a success. However, what is now frightening is that almost weekly we are notified of record seizures of fentanyl. Why is this? This is because the cartels are so successful at smuggling that it encourages them to send larger and larger amounts.

“It doesn’t matter if 90% or 99% of fentanyl is seized at ports of entry,” Cleveland said, because the numbers “reflect what is seized, not how it’s crossed or, more importantly, what’s leaving.”

Cleveland also said that Congress should prioritize border and national security and address immigration reform once the border is secure.