(LibertySociety.com) – As the end of Title 42 rule nears, Republican lawmakers are reportedly looking for a solution to stop the flow of fentanyl across the southern border of the United States. Deaths from opioids have reached an epidemic level in the country, with over 70,000 American lives lost each year, prompting calls for a public health emergency to deal with the problem. According to Fox News, Senator Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., has introduced the Stop Fentanyl Border Crossings Act, which would expand the use of Title 42 to include preventing drug smuggling.
If passed and signed by President Biden into law, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be able to continue to expel illegal migrants at the southern border under Title 42. Senator Hagerty pushed this same legislation several times last year, but it was not brought forward for consideration then. Senators Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona, and James Lankford, R-Okla., have voiced concerns about the end of Title 42, expressing doubts that the Biden administration has properly prepared for the impending influx of migrants. It is unclear if there will be bipartisan support for Senator Hagerty’s legislation.
The fentanyl crisis has garnered concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over the last several months, with many hearings focused on finding a way to stop the manufacture of the drug and its trafficking across the border. The Biden administration recently announced a new effort to disrupt the activities of cartels that are stashing, manufacturing, and trafficking fentanyl by creating an international partnership with other governments and the private sector to map the network of their operations.
With 10 Republican co-sponsors for the bill, Senator Hagerty is hoping to bring it to a vote this time, stating that “We cannot afford to allow this shockingly-lethal drug to continue wreaking havoc on our communities and killing our youth.” Title 42 will come to an end on May 11th, 2023, making this legislation an urgent matter for Republicans.
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