Arizona border sheriff compares fentanyl death toll to bomb taking out entire U.S. city

An Arizona border sheriff says the death toll from fentanyl and other illicit drugs pouring across the southern border is the equivalent of a bomb taking out a midsize city, but most Americans are unaware of the crisis because of political and media inattention.

Drug overdoses were the single largest cause of mortality for 18- to 45-year-old Americans last year, accounting for more than 100,000 American deaths.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb told the Just the News, Not Noise television show last week that the numbers are likely to soar after President Joe Biden lifts the Title 42 health restrictions later this month, increasing the flow of illegal aliens that can assist cartels in moving drugs.

“It is going to bring America to its knees if we don't fix it,” he said. “It is already the leading cause of death for Americans among 18 to 45 years olds. And it will continue to be as long as we don't stop it.

“Let me put it into perspective for any of your viewers. If the cartel were to drop a bomb on the city, and kill 100,000 people, which is what the cartels have done with this poison, they've killed 100,000 people just in the last year.

“If they were to kill 100,000 people with a bomb, what would we do as a country? I mean, we went to war for 20 years over what happened on 9/11,” Lamb added.

The sheriff said the ruling class in Washington is “completely turning the blind eye to” the relationship of drug deaths and the insecure border.

“Our government and the mainstream media, they refuse to talk about it. They want to talk about anything and everything but protecting our borders,” he said. “And it's shameful because American lives are at risk every day. And we're seeing that increase every day.”