Hamadeh: The Federal Government Has Failed Americans on Border Security

A core function of the federal government is ensuring the safety and well-being of its citizens. This includes protecting the integrity of our borders. Consequently, it’s baffling that amidst record numbers of migrants and deadly drugs flooding across our southern border, the Biden Administration has effectively given up on defending and enforcing the laws governing our immigration system. The current Administration refuses to even acknowledge the border being in a state of “crisis,” let alone recognize we are now dealing with the effects of a manmade disaster.

A key component of illegal immigration and border enforcement relies upon a federal government committed to enforcing the law. Unfortunately, officials in D.C. are more interested in using the border as a political football and scoring cheap points with the most extreme activist factions of their base. While many continue to call for reform, what good is passing new immigration laws when the current Administration brazenly ignores the laws we already have on the books?

According to the most recent U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) figures, the number of encounters at the Southwest border has already eclipsed the total encounters for Fiscal Year 2021. The total Southwest border land encounters with single adults are nearly 51 percent higher than the previous year. CBP encountered 239,416 migrants along the Southwest border in May, the largest number ever encountered since CBP began keeping track in 2000. It is estimated at least another 70,000 individuals entered the country illegally at the southern border in May alone.

U.S. Border Patrol encounters with non-U.S. citizens on the terror watch list at Southwest border ports of entry for fiscal years 2017-2021 was a combined total of 26. The number for fiscal year 2022 (October 2021 to July 2022) is already at 66. This does not include people who evade capture and enter the country illegally.

It is no longer a viable option to wait on the federal government to tackle our broken immigration system. If the federal government fails to fulfill a core duty, border states like Arizona must lead in combating the humanitarian crisis along with the violence and tidal wave of deadly drugs devastating our communities. As Attorney General, I will not sit back and be a passive observer that gives the federal government a free pass on their lack of immigration enforcement.

Arizona has become the gateway for fentanyl distribution in the United States. The DEA seized 12 million fentanyl pills in Arizona alone in 2021. That was up from six million seized pills the previous year. In 2021 there were 2,006 confirmed opioid fatalities in Arizona. An 80 percent increase from 2018. 94 percent of the Arizona deaths in 2021 involved synthetics like fentanyl. In late August, Arizona CBP agents seized 187 pounds of fentanyl pills in a Tucson traffic stop. Enough to kill nearly 43 million Americans.

Violent gangs like the Sinaloa Cartel are primarily responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl flooding our communities. That is why I have already called for designating certain cartels as “terrorist organizations” in Arizona law. Cartels are no longer content maximizing their financial profits. They are actively seeking to intimidate and coerce civilian populations to further their violent manifestos and political objectives.

The cartels have a financial stake in everything that moves through their territory. By designating the most violent cartels as terrorist organizations in Arizona law, state prosecutors could more readily freeze and seize ill-gotten assets. It would also allow the state to more aggressively prosecute known members of designated terror organizations or individuals who provide material support to cartels.

Human trafficking, money laundering, and drug smuggling are all integrally intertwined. Cartels and “coyotes” are reportedly earning around $13 billion a year by smuggling migrants across the United States/Mexico border, an amount that has soared from about $500 million in 2018. As Attorney General, I will work with law enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute and financially cripple human smuggling networks.

Arizona’s next Attorney General must be willing to sue and hold the federal government accountable on their immigration policies. My opponent has stated that she doesn’t believe litigation against the federal government, including lawsuits over the unconstitutional attempts to end Title 42, is appropriate. She claims, “There are better ways to go about it”, including coming together to “try to tackle this problem.”

The time for talking and asking the federal government to simply do their job is over. Arizonans demand an Attorney General who will take action, not turn a blind eye and wait out the clock until the next election.