GOP Congressman Pete Stauber is sounding the alarm on the dangers posed to Minnesota’s law-abiding citizens by a lack of border patrol agents on the Canadian-U.S. border.
“On average there is now only one officer on duty for every 275 miles of the border in my district,” the Duluth native told the Homeland Security Committee earlier this week in Washington.
“Every minute that these officers’ attention is focused elsewhere, we are leaving our northern border vulnerable to illicit activity, whether it be illegal crossings by individuals or trafficking of dangerous drugs.”
Stauber, a former law enforcement officer, said many northern border agents are being sent to help with the southern border or are stuck processing paperwork related to illegal crossings in the south.
The issue of illegal immigration and drug trafficking has increasingly become a black eye for the Biden administration, which refuses to tackle the issue with urgency. According to a 2021 Centers for Disease Control report, deaths due to drug overdose reached a record high of 100,000 over the twelve month period lasting from April 2020 until April 2021.
During his remarks, Stauber, who belongs to the newly-formed Northern Border Security Caucus, warned his fellow lawmakers what would happen if they remain indifferent on the issue.
“According to Customs and Border Protection data, drug smuggling across the northern border has increased by nearly 600% since fiscal year 2021. These drugs are pouring over the northern border and flowing directly into our communities, killing our citizens,” he said.
“The communities in my district are being ravaged by the influx of lethal fentanyl. Today, fentanyl is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States, taking more lives each year than car accidents, suicide, heart disease, or cancer. In 2021, nearly 1,300 Minnesotans died of fentanyl overdose, a staggering 22% increase just from the previous year.”
He pointed to a recent case in Hennepin County where six people were busted with 34 pounds of fentanyl, “enough to kill every Minnesotan nearly 1.5 times over.”
Stauber is not the only public official drawing Congress’ attention to the problems resulting from the Biden administration’s incompetency on the matter. National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd has also warned lawmakers about the growing threat that an un-manned Canadian-U.S. border poses.
“If we continue to hemorrhage personnel, there is no way we will secure the border,” Judd said during the hearing Tuesday. “We have not sufficiently invested in our agents, which are the most important element in border security.”
According to The Daily Caller, border patrol agents in Vermont, New Hampshire, and New York recently recorded “an 846% increase in apprehensions of illegal migrants.”
“Last year, Border Patrol apprehended over 2,000 people along the northern border,” Judd further explained. “However, because we lack the personnel and situational awareness on the northern border, and due to the forced deployment of agents stationed on the northern border down to the southern border — in response to President Biden’s border crisis — we are apprehending only a small fraction of illegal crossings.”
Stauber concluded his testimony by arguing that the only way to save American lives is to secure the border.
“The drug crisis in this country has grown out of control, taking the lives of countless Americas from all walks of life each and every day. We will never be able to overcome this epidemic until we address the nation’s porous borders and stop the flow of these drugs into our country.”
Stephen Kokx
Stephen Kokx, M.A., is a journalist for LifeSiteNews. He previously worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago under the late Francis Cardinal George. A former community college instructor, Stephen has written and spoken extensively about Catholic social teaching and politics. His essays have appeared in such outlets as Catholic Family News and CatholicVote.org.
