Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen dodged a question about the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border when pressed about fentanyl trafficking during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday.
The National Center for Health Statistics estimates 107,543 people will die from drug overdoses in 2023, down just 3% from 111,029 in 2022 and the first decline since 2018. Of those deaths, 74,702 and 76,226 will likely be caused by synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, according to the May 15 census. releaseDuring an interview on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” Fox News host Neil Cavuto questioned Yellen about the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border and asked about the border closure. (RELATED: ‘This is the result’: Democratic sheriff says ‘porous border’ is to blame for ‘preventable’ murder of mother of five)
“A better solution, and maybe it would be to address what you’re doing here, Secretary of Defense, to completely close the border?” Cavuto asked Yellen. “Just close it down. That’s what Donald Trump wants to do. What do you think?”
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Treasury Secretary Biden has no clear answer as to why the border should not be closed. pic.twitter.com/mPwO4HEJtz
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 20, 2024
“Well, you know, my concern today is, um, fentanyl trafficking, drug trafficking. And I would say…” Yellen trailed off.
The Treasury Department established an anti-fentanyl strike force in December 2023. Fentanyl Fentanyl can claim the lives of up to 500,000 people, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which seized more than 55 million fentanyl pills in 2023 alone. CBS News report.
“But if it gets shut down, Secretary, do you know what I mean?” Cavuto interjected. “If it gets completely shut down, there will be no human trafficking, right?
“Well, the most impactful tool we have is to install advanced drug detection equipment. What President Biden has done is not to completely close the border,” Yellen argued.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order June 4 halting asylum applications after more than 2,500 people crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in a single day over the course of a week, and would not resume asylum applications until the weekly figure fell to an average of 1,500 or less per day.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report Border Patrol has had more than 7 million encounters with illegal immigrants since the start of fiscal year 2021.
Following a series of crimes involving illegal immigrants, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border has become a key issue in the 2024 presidential election. On June 14, Oklahoma authorities arrested Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, a 23-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, for the August 2023 murder of 37-year-old Rachel Morin in Maryland.
Authorities in Houston arrested two men Thursday for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl, charged them with murder and are seeking to verify their immigration status. according to ABC 13 Houston’s Brooke Taylor tells us: Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan immigrant who illegally crossed the US-Mexico border in February, was arrested by University of Georgia police and charged with the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
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