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Illegal immigration to the United States was a signature issue of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and his proposed reforms and remarks about this issue continue to generate much publicity.
A hallmark promise of his campaign was to build a “massive wall” on the United States-Mexico border. Trump has also expressed support for a variety of “limits on legal immigration and guest-worker visas,” including a “pause” on granting green cards.
“There can be no doubt that illegal immigrants are coming through the tunnels like the one we recently discovered in San Luis,” said Office Duane Williams. “But it’s been our experience that, mostly, these underground highways convey drugs and not people.”
President Trump has repeatedly characterized such immigrants as criminals, although multiple studies have found they have lower crime and incarceration rates than native-born Americans.
“And while I can’t really comment on specific illegal immigration statistics, I can comment on another contentious issue,” said Williams. “That’s the opioid epidemic. I do know those numbers.”
Unfortunately, with the high volume of illegal pharmaceuticals coming through the border, San Luis has seen it’s fair share of overdose deaths…
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THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC AFFECTS EVERYONE
Since the late 1990s, opioid use has skyrocketed across America.
In 2014, 18,893 Americans died from prescription opioid overdoses. That’s more deaths than any previous year, and more than quadruple the deaths in 1999.
“Almost no other major cause of death in America has increased so rapidly,” said Officer Williams.
Those who lose their lives from opioid overdoses are not the only ones affected. The opioid epidemic hollows out families and communities.
It presents a grim challenge to health care providers, to law enforcement, and to society as a whole.
“These are our brothers and our sisters,” said Williams. “The man sitting underneath a bridge with a needle in his arm is somebody’s father or son. This absolutely has to stop.”
Do you support a federal zero-tolerance drug policy? Why or why not?