U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is urging members of Congress to increase funding to combat the flow of illegal drugs and weapons at the U.S. border.
In a May 9 letter to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Heinrich and 16 members of Congress asked for increased funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to hire more agents and purchase surveillance technology.
In their letter, the senators asked for “robust funding to support the law enforcement agencies that are investigating smuggling and trafficking crimes and working to disrupt the transnational criminal networks that threaten our country and our communities.”
The bulk of the senators’ letter argues that the funding will combat fentanyl trafficking, help reduce substance use disorder and prevent overdose deaths.
“Due to its widespread availability and low cost, fentanyl is being mixed with other illicit drugs to increase their potency, often without the knowledge of the user,” the letter says. “These include illegal pills, mass-produced by cartels, made to look like legitimate prescription opioids like OxyContin and Xanax.”
The letter also says the funding will help prevent the trafficking of illegal weapons at the southern border. According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), between 2017 and 2021, 21,717 firearms were trafficked from the U.S. to foreign countries in 1,176 cases, compared to 4,129 firearms trafficked in 82 cases from foreign countries into the U.S.
The data provided by the ATF suggests that more than five times as many firearms were trafficked from the U.S. to foreign countries than from foreign countries into the U.S. Cases involving firearms trafficked from the U.S. to Mexico represented almost 73% of cases in which firearms were trafficked from the U.S. to other countries — 854 of 1,176.
The funding could help areas of New Mexico that are at high risk for smuggling and trafficking of illegal drugs. Fifteen counties in New Mexico are designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, including Torrance and Sandoval Counties.
Heinrich co-sponsored and helped pass the FEND off Fentanyl Act into law in April.
“This new law will help combat the fentanyl crisis in rural New Mexico communities by authorizing the federal government to engage in new sanctions and anti-money laundering activities to interdict illicit fentanyl before it ever reaches our borders,” a spokesperson for Heinrich said.
Heinrich is also a co-sponsor of the Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act, legislation that would help CBP hire more agents.
The El Paso Division of the Drug Enforcement Agency, which is responsible for the entire state of New Mexico and several counties in Texas, reported that in 2023, 905,471 fentanyl pills and 26 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized in New Mexico alone.
According to a report from the 2022 New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee, fentanyl has driven the increase in drug overdose deaths since 2019, though overdose deaths involving methamphetamines have also increased. In 2021, 574 New Mexicans died from an overdose involving fentanyl and 488 New Mexicans died from an overdose involving meth.