Last year I watched border patrol agents rappel from helicopters in an adjacent neighborhood chasing "got-away illegal immigrants" near our Green Valley, Arizona winter residence forty miles from the Nogales border. Several months later discarded shoes, clothing, and empty water bottles were found in an arroyo that runs through my neighborhood.
This year, at the Nogales Border, drug seizures by the CBP Agents (Customs and Border) and US Border Patrol Agents have increased at an alarming rate.
- July 27th - agents seized 320,000 fentanyl pills, 89 pounds of methamphetamine, and 11.5 pounds of heroin.
- August 22nd - agents seized approximately 1.57 million fentanyl pills, 13 pounds of heroin, and 10 pounds of cocaine.
- September 6th - agents seized more than 200,000 fentanyl pills.
- September 13th - agents seized 6,000 rainbow fentanyl pills, 20,000 blue fentanyl pills, more than 2 pounds of cocaine, and 70 pounds of methamphetamine.
- September 23rd - agents seized more than 72,000 fentanyl pills, 44 pounds of methamphetamine, 2.45 pounds of fentanyl powder, and 2.9 pounds of cocaine.
This is the Nogales Border. The Eagle Pass border region in Texas has a much darker story.
President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas continue to state that our Southern Border is secure. Congress and the Senate have failed to pass immigration and border legislation. Federal laws are not enforced.
Here are the facts:
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol 2022 Statistics - (Fiscal Year Spans 9/30 - 10/1)
U.S. Border Patrol Apprehensions
2022 (to date) - 748
2021 - 566
U.S. Border Patrol and Field Operations Criminal Non-Citizen Encounters
2022 - 26,336
2021 - 17,330
U.S. Border Patrol Nationwide Gang Affiliation Apprehensions
2022 - 697
2021 - 348
US Border Patrol Terrorist Watchlist Northern and Southern Border Ports of Entry and Illegal Crossing Encounters
2022 - 420
2021 - 173
U.S. Border Patrol Nationwide Checkpoint Drug seizures for 2022 (missing September data) include 3,078 pounds of marijuana, 1,007 pounds of cocaine, 109 pounds of heroin, 4,096 pounds of methamphetamine, and 461 pounds of fentanyl.
There have been 109,000 fentanyl deaths in the U.S. in 2022.
And the year has not ended.
Southwest U.S. Border Immigrant Deaths
(State and local agencies may recover bodies without Border Patrol involvement, meaning the number of deaths is likely higher.)
2022 (to date) - 748
2021 - 566
Southwest U.S. Border Patrol Search and Rescue Efforts
2022 - 20,464
2021 - 12,833
On June 27, 2022 - 60 illegal immigrants were discovered in an abandoned in a locked semi-truck that had passed across the US border near San Antonio. 51 died.
These facts are only a partial view of the catastrophic disaster due to our open southern border and the lack of enforcement of Federal laws. Death, homelessness, human trafficking by drug cartels, the rape of women and children, and security issues are by-products of this administration's border policies.
The top three responsibilities of the Federal Government are security and national defense, securing individual liberty, and order and justice. It is failing all three responsibilities.
We, as citizens of the United States, need to hold the government accountable for not securing our southern border. Our Congress and Senate elected officials are focused on gaining and maintaining power, not representing their constituents. I invite you to be a part of the Convention of States movement. We are growing a grassroots army large enough to call the first-ever Article V Convention of the States. Sign the petition here.
Learn about Convention of the States. Share what you have learned with others and if you have the time -- volunteer. There are many small and big ways to be engaged. Join us! Learn more here.
