Fentanyl Crisis Fuels Democratic Support for Border Deal

America's ongoing fentanyl crisis is pushing Democratic politicians from swing states to support a deal on border security that Republicans are demanding as a condition for providing aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Fentanyl deaths have seen a steady increase over the past ten years. In 2012, America experienced 2,628 fentanyl-related deaths. In 2022, that number reached 73,654, according to a data analysis by USA Facts.

Simultaneously, as migration numbers at the southwest border have risen, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl over the course of the financial year 2023, up from the roughly 14,700 pounds it gathered in FY 2022.

Amid the coinciding trends, Republican lawmakers have taken to blaming the fentanyl crisis on the situation at the border, stressing that an overwhelmed Border Patrol cannot effectively handle the policing of drugs and processing of migrants in tandem. Americans dealing with the crisis are responding to the message.

"We had over 1,400 fentanyl deaths in 2022," Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, told Newsweek. "That's the way in which Wisconsinites want to see border security, to stop the flow of fentanyl into the U.S."

Baldwin faces a reelection bid in 2024 that will also see her party also defend senate seats in the presidential swing states of Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Red state Democratic incumbent Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana will also have to make the case to voters of why they deserve to stay in office.

With the Senate closely divided, the Democratic Party's ability to maintain control of the upper chamber will rest upon the campaigns in these seven states as well as President Joe Biden's ability to hold on to the White House. Passing a bill that addresses the needs of Israel and Ukraine while also offering new border enforcement policies and resources could prove significant come 2024.

Sixty-four percent of voters disapprove of Biden's handling of border security, per a poll published December 8 by the Wall Street Journal, and 52 percent of voters said increasing border security should be a top priority for Congress, according to a November 16 Morning Consult poll.

Democratic Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee oversees his party's efforts to reelect those seven vulnerable Democrats to the Senate, stressed the significance of preventing the flow of fentanyl across the border.

"We fully support making sure that we have as secure a border as possible, and fentanyl is a major issue that affects all of our communities all across the country," Peters, who also chairs the committee that oversees the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek. "Border security is incredibly important."

Peters noted that Biden's original $106 billion aid request that would fund Ukraine, Israel, and border security allocated dollars toward advanced screening technology that would help Border Patrol prevent the flow of fentanyl. Republicans effectively killed that effort, though, after Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said "substantive" border policy change would need to be part of the deal to get enough Republicans to support a package aiding Ukraine.

Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona who has been vocal about the need for border security reform well before the recent round of negotiations embraces the possibility of a bipartisan enforcement deal, telling Newsweek that, regarding the fentanyl issue, "the solution here is for us to come together in a comprehensive approach to secure our border." However, that solution may not get everyone on board.

CBS News reported Wednesday that the deal Biden may strike with Republicans could include new authority to expel migrants without undergoing asylum screenings as well as an expansion to immigration detention and deportations. The next day, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus took to the Capitol steps to raise concerns about the potential deal, warning pairing foreign with border policy changes could set a dangerous precedent for future negotiations.

"The CHC is concerned about the most recent reports that we're hearing now of these Trump-era immigration policies possibly becoming permanent law in exchange for one-time funding," Democratic Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragán of California, chair of the CHC, said. "We're here to call on President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reject the immigration and border proposals."

Any deal that faces actual potential to become law will likely lose votes from members of the hard left and the hard right. Such a situation could put Senate Leaders Schumer and McConnell in challenging positions, positions further complicated by House Speaker Mike Johnson who has not committed to bringing a potential package to vote on the House floor.

Punchbowl News reported last week that Johnson told congressional leaders that he won't pair Ukraine aid with anything less than H.R. 2, a hardline border security package that passed the House without a single Democratic vote.

Johnson himself reiterated on Fox News Tuesday that the House's negotiating position is H.R. 2. However, during that same appearance, he said "the House will do its work" if there's a deal and acknowledged that he believes most Republicans support aiding Ukraine.

If a bipartisan Ukraine-Border deal materializes, Johnson would face immense political scrutiny if he elected to use the power of the speakership to block such a deal from receiving a vote, particularly if such a deal receives the support of conservatives like Senator Steve Daines of Montana, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, whose state continues to recon with the issue.

"I can speak as a Montanan, we are a northern border state, but we also have a southern border crisis," Daines told Newsweek. "The fentanyl and meth that's being produced by the Mexican cartels comes across that southern border and is into communities in Montana within 48 to 72 hours across the Rio Grande—I've seen that firsthand."

"Every hour spent apprehending people is an hour that they could have spent on drug interdiction," Daines added. "That's what makes it easier for the cartels to get the drugs across the southern border, and is directly affecting communities across Montana, across our country."