We’ve seen this fentanyl crisis go from bad to worse: Rep. Tony Gonzales
Rep. Tony Gonzales discusses the fentanyl crisis and what can be done in Congress to remedy the situation on ‘Your World.’
A border security mission launched by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has resulted in 336 million "lethal doses" of fentanyl being seized since it began earlier this year, enough to kill the entire population of the United States, he said.
Operation Lone Star was launched in March to combat illegal immigration, an issue Abbott has said the federal government refuses to address as border communities continue to feel its impacts.
On Monday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said hundreds of millions of fentanyl doses have been seized by troopers amid heightened security and aggressive law action by law enforcement near and around the southern border throughout the state.
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A bag of rainbow-colored fentanyl pills. On Monday, Texas authorities said 336 million lethal doses of fentanyl has been seized since the start of a border security initiative earlier this year. ( U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA))
"We need to all realize that fentanyl is killing Texans," Abbott said in Beaumont during a Monday news conference to announce the "One Pill Kills" public awareness campaign.
Abbott said much of the fentanyl being used in the United States is made in China and then smuggled into the U.S. by Mexican drug cartels. He said he has issued an executive order designating such cartels as terrorist organizations and signed a law that would increase penalties for making or distributing the drug.
He laid much of the blame on the Biden administration's border policies.
"All of this is a byproduct of Biden's open border policies that led to about 2.2 million people being apprehended coming across the border in just this past year," Abbott said. "When you have that many people coming across the border with the assistance of Mexican drug cartels, it makes it far easier for the greater volume of fentanyl to be crossing our border."
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The governor also announced new laws to be considered for the upcoming legislative session. That includes classifying fentanyl overdoses as poisonings and charging someone with murder if they knowingly provide fentanyl or drugs laced with fentanyl to someone who died from ingesting it.
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