The graph above was sampled from this post at the Center for Immigration Studies by Andrew R. Arthur. I would like to say that it is a balanced description of the problem but, honestly, it isn’t. The Biden Administration inherited a complex problem that was more or less under control and made it worse. The problem is exacerbated by the large number of unaccompanied children crossing the border and by the internationalization of illegal entry into the United States.
The reason it’s a problem is that there is not a growing need for workers who can’t read, write, or speak English and adding to that population pushes the wages down for workers in that cohort already here. The chickens is done come home to roost. We can’t kick the can down the road any longer.
All that you say is true. But there are more profound issues. This administrations policies are enabling human trafficking and the fentanyl problem.
It’s truly unconscionable
For those interested in the data, not just talking points, you can find them at the link for fentanyl. The increase started about 2015 with the biggest increase sen in 2020, when crossings were low. (Deaths for 2021 were probably about 70,000).
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/drugoverdoses/data-details/
Steve
CATO has nice info on how fentanyl actually gets to the US. In short, it is US citizens bringing it in.
https://www.cato.org/blog/fentanyl-smuggled-us-citizens-us-citizens-not-asylum-seekers
Steve
US citizens bringing it in.…..
So it’s a recreational drug of choice, not a problem.
the large number of unaccompanied children crossing the border:
And that’s a deliberate tactic.
Saves free love liberals a plane ticket to Asia.
“So it’s a recreational drug of choice, not a problem.”
Of course. As we know, Americans would never sell drugs! Money is just not an incentive when it comes to economic activity, unless its paying taxes.
Steve
Pure sophistry, steve. Your usual offering.
The point isn’t when it started. Its when, why and how dramatically it is accelerating the past two years.
Further, various sources provide different data. Most notably because of the disaggregation problems with separating general opioid overdoses from the fentanyl phenomenon.
From the CDC: Fentanyl deaths up 24% from 2020 to 2021. (Wanna bet on 2022?)
And the Washington office of the DEA:
“Based on the most recently available data, 2021 was an even deadlier year for much of the region — a trend that is exacerbated by the Mexican cartels’ efforts to turn a quick profit. The DEA has been seeing Mexican cartels sourcing raw, dangerous chemicals from China, using these chemicals to cheaply produce the deadly synthetic opioid, fentanyl. This fentanyl is then trafficked into the area, mixed into almost every illicit drug, and sold to unsuspecting buyers, causing an extraordinary spike in deadly overdose deaths.
Last year, fatal overdoses rose by more than 40 percent across both D.C. and Virginia. As of Aug. 2021, D.C. had already surpassed the number of drug overdose deaths for the year prior.
In Virginia, drug overdose deaths in the first half of 2021 were already 22 percent higher than the prior year. Making 2021 likely the deadliest year for fatal drug overdoses in the Commonwealth.”
2022 will be worse.
Further, rather than play statistical games, just talk to people on the front lines about fentanyl. Its an absolute epidemic.
Your denial of the issue for purposes of political obfuscation is grotesque. And such denial on a number of issues is why you guys are going to get your asses whipped tonight.
No, you dont provide different data that deals with the issue. You are just throwing out numbers trying to obfuscate that you were wrong. No one is saying that Mexico is not the current source of most fentanyl. That is not what I said. What I pointed out and you dont address is that the huge majority of the fentanyl is being brought into the US by US citizens. They are much less likely to get stopped and/or searched.
“The point isn’t when it started. Its when, why and how dramatically it is accelerating the past two years.”
You appear to be trying to link fentanyl deaths to the influx of illegal immigrants. The data shows that there isn’t much linkage. It started when numbers were low and had its biggest increase in a year when numbers were low.
” just talk to people on the front lines about fentanyl.”
When was the last time you had to tell some parents you couldn’t resuscitate their teenager because they had been anoxic too long? I am very aware, on a near daily basis, that fentanyl abuse is a big problem. Reducing narcotic use and making sure it is appropriate in our system is actually one of my projects. For me this is part of my work and fairly personal. For you this is just about spouting political BS which is certainly easier than trying to identify problems and fix them.
Steve