Fitzpatrick's Lie about the Border and Fentanyl

It's counterintuitive but true: Securing the southern border won't affect the flow of fentanyl into the US. Brian Fitzpatrick must know this. So why does he keep claiming it will?

Photo by Randy Laybourne on Unsplash

In his press release of February 6, Brian Fitzpatrick had this to say about fentanyl and the southern border: "The price of inaction is just too high, as fentanyl continues to flow across the border killing our fellow Americans and cartels exploit the porous border for criminal activity." Fitzpatrick amplified this claim in the media last weekend.

Trouble is, the claim is false. Fitzpatrick has access to the same government data as we, and must know he is lying.

Let's look at a 2022 evidence-based investigation by the Cato Institute (hardly a bastion of progressivism). They concluded that "just 0.02 percent of the people arrested by Border Patrol for crossing illegally possessed any fentanyl whatsoever." Where fentanyl is concerned, we have met the enemy, and they are us. US citizens are 99% of fentanyl consumers and 86% minimum (likely as much as 97%) of fentanyl traffickers.

Almost all of the fentanyl flowing into the US crosses the border at legal points of entry. Why? Those entering the country legally face less scrutiny and a will almost certainly successfully cross the border. It's Economics of Smuggling 101.

Further, as the Cato Institute says, "aggressive drug interdiction exacerbates fentanyl smuggling." Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, so smuggling one pound of fentanyl into the US is the equivalent of smuggling 50 pounds of heroin. The Cato Institute refers to the "iron law of prohibition," in which enhanced enforcement incentivizes smuggling of the most potent form of the contraband.

Like Donald Trump, the presidential candidate he voted for in 2020, Rep. Fitzpatrick lies as easily as he breathes. Granted, Trump's lies about the border are more extravagant. In at least one respect though, Fitzpatrick's lies are worse than Trump's, because unlike Trump, Fitzpatrick has crafted an "aw shucks," Boy Scout-like persona which motivates Democrat-leaning voters to split the ticket and vote (against their own interests) for him.

Fitzpatrick's lie about fentanyl is especially heinous, because it feeds into the xenophobia and bigotry which are Trump's stock in trade. The Cato Institute says this about people who blame immigrants for the fentanyl crisis: "Instead of attacking immigrants, policymakers should focus on effective solutions that help people at risk of a fentanyl overdose." I agree. The fentanyl crisis will be solved only by working the demand side of the opioid economy.

Why does our so-called moderate congressman engage in stealth support for extreme right-wing politics and politicians, again and again? Who knows? We the people of PA-01 can render such questions moot by voting Fitzpatrick out of office in November and initiating the next phase of Fitzpatrick's professional career, in which he will be someone else's problem.