Let’s start by agreeing with Gov. Brad Little that the proliferation of fentanyl is a grave threat to the health, safety, and general well-being of Idahoans.
As the Idaho website on fentanyl, Fentanyl Takes All, points out, “For the first time in US history, over 100,000 Americans have died of drug overdoses in a single year (2020-2021).”
And, “In 2021, synthetic opioids like fentanyl were involved in 44% of all overdose deaths in Idaho. That rate doubled from the previous year. In the US, there are more Fentanyl-related deaths than gun and auto-related deaths combined. It is time to inform and unite Idahoans against the most deadly drug threat we have ever seen.”
And the majority of fentanyl comes across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Back in September 2021, Gov. Little joined with 25 other governors in signing a letter to President Biden.
From the letter:
“The negative impacts of an unenforced border policy on the American people can no longer be ignored. Border apprehensions are up almost 500% compared to last year, totaling more than 1.3 million—more people than the populations of nine U.S. states. Approximately 9,700 illegal apprehensions have prior criminal convictions. Cartels and traffickers are making $14 million a day moving people illegally across the border. More fentanyl has been seized this fiscal year than the last three years combined—almost 10,500 pounds of fentanyl when only 2 milligrams prove fatal. This is enough to kill seven times the U.S. population.
While governors are doing what we can, our Constitution requires that the President must faithfully execute the immigration laws passed by Congress. Not only has the federal government created a crisis, it has left our states to deal with challenges that only the federal government has a duty to solve. Our immigration system may be complicated and complex, but the solution to ending the border crisis is simple and straightforward. As President, you have the ability to take action to protect America, restore security, and end the crisis now.”
The second paragraph leaves me scratching my head. I can’t think of a clearer case for impeachment than a president deliberately creating a border crisis, one that makes it harder to stop fentanyl smuggling. As the letter notes, the president must faithfully execute immigration laws passed by Congress. Yet President Biden, as one of his first official acts, ended the largely successful Migration Protection Protocol established by President Trump. This protocol required asylum applicants to “remain in Mexico,” pending a court hearing to determine the validity of their claim for asylum. This of course was very unattractive to those hoping to get quick passage into the country. And by flooding the border with millions of bodies to process, the job of drug interdiction and stopping the trafficking of children was made horrendously more difficult. This was a conscious policy decision by the Biden Administration. And the consequences were plainly obvious from the get-go.
The letter from the governors to the president closes with a plea by these 26 governors for a dialogue with the president.
“Therefore, we come directly to you seeking an open and constructive dialogue regarding border enforcement on behalf of U.S. citizens in our states and all those hoping to become U.S. citizens. We must end the current crisis and return to border operations that respect the laws of our land and the lives of all people, including those in our states looking to the federal government to enforce and protect our nation’s borders.
Due to the emergent crisis, we respectfully request a meeting as soon as your schedule allows within 15 days. While we know your responsibilities as Commander in Chief are substantial, ending the national crisis and securing our states must be a priority.”
We are now 22 months past those 15 days, and yet the border crisis persists and Biden clearly isn’t interested in stopping it. For him, it is an achievement.
Following the non-response, the governors offered 10 policy solutions.
Let’s not kid ourselves that state police SWAT teams, law enforcement roundtables, a governor’s strike force, or a team of five ISP troopers will make a significant difference. The only solution is the obvious one, removing the thoroughly treasonous Joe Biden from office. And Gov. Little and the 25 other governors who wrote the original letter nearly two years ago asking for a dialogue with Biden should now lead the charge in requesting that the U.S. House of Representatives impeach Biden. Otherwise, impeachment has no meaning; the border crisis will destabilize the Republic, millions of unvetted people will pour in, and tens of thousands of people will continue to die from fentanyl.
