As fentanyl distribution rises, AG Moody calls on Biden administration to enforce existing immigration laws

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is calling on President Joe Biden and the leaders of the House and Senate to “stop posturing” and acknowledge the magnitude of the crisis at the southwest border, which she says is enabling the illicit importation of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids fueling a drug crisis in America.

More than 21 Floridians die every day from accidental opioid overdoses, Moody said.

“Biden’s lax border policy is an open invitation to dangerous criminals, human traffickers and drug traffickers to enter the United States – creating a crisis at the Southern Border like we have never seen," Moody, who last year sued the Biden administration over reinstating an Obama-era catch and release program, said. "Because Biden is not requiring those crossing the border to go through the legally mandated channels, they are coming into our country without being properly processed.

“The president’s illegal immigration policies have allowed a skyrocketing amount of fentanyl into the country, as deaths from opioids continue to increase nationwide,” she added, pointing to U.S. Customs and Border Protection drug seizure data for last year.

In her letter to Biden and congressional leaders, she wrote that during Biden’s first year in office, “we cannot ignore the fact that the escalating crisis at the border is having a devastating effect on our efforts to end the national opioid epidemic to save lives.”

Illicit fentanyl seized at the southern border during 10 months of Biden being in office increased by more than 50%, compared to the same time-period the previous year, according to CBP data.

“In plain numbers, that translates to 8,744 pounds of fentanyl seized compared to 5,734 pounds seized from February through November 2020,” she wrote. “In fact, the amount of fentanyl confiscated during that 10-month period is enough to kill the entire population of America six times over.”

Law enforcement officials know "from hard experience" that what they’ve seized is "inevitably just the tip of the iceberg," she added.

"The atmosphere of chaos on our border gives free reign to some of the worst actors in the criminal world – including the Mexican drug cartels – to smuggle drugs in enormous quantities," she wrote.

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death among 18 to 45-year-olds according to CDC data, the nonprofit Families Against Fentanyl reports.

“It’s no secret that President Biden’s immigration policies are an unmitigated disaster, but it now appears that Biden’s abdication of his duty at our southwest border is allowing criminals to smuggle even larger amounts of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our country – fueling the nation’s deadly opioid crisis,” Moody said in a press release announcing her office’s prosecutorial efforts related to immigration and illicit opioids.

When it comes to illegal immigration, Moody sued the Biden administration over its immigration policies that violate existing federal law.

Last June, in response to an interstate compact announced between the governors of Texas and Arizona, Gov. Ron DeSantis sent law enforcement officers and resources to help secure the southern border in Texas. In July, DeSantis and Moody met with officials at a border summit in Del Rio, Texas, to support Florida’s effort in the Texas led-Operation Lone Star, another illegal immigration crime-fighting initiative at the Texas-Mexico border.

Moody also urged congressional leaders last May to enact the FIGHT Fentanyl Act (Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting Fentanyl), a bill, filed by a Southwest Florida Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan. The bill would permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. She’s calling on Congressional leadership once again to pass the bill, since it hasn’t yet passed either chamber.

The AG’s office also created a “Dose of Reality Florida” website as a one-stop resource to help educate Floridians about opioid misuse. The site includes addiction support services information, drop off locations for unused prescription drugs, a public service announcement video, as well as other information.

Most recently, Moody announced that Florida reached settlement agreements with pharmaceutical companies, the most recent of which is nearly $300 million with Johnson & Johnson and $65 million with opioid manufacturer Endo, and continues to secure lengthy prison sentences for opioid traffickers in Florida.