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Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced an amendment that would require the death penalty for anyone caught snuggling fentanyl across the U.S. southern border.
Greene tweeted on Tuesday: “300 Americans are murdered each day by fentanyl. It’s the leading killer of young people, 18-34, in America. Today, I introduced an amendment to H.R. 467 to give the death penalty to criminals who intentionally or knowingly import fentanyl across our Southern border.”
Greene’s amendment comes as several Republican lawmakers have pushed for new legislation to enforce tougher penalties to crack down on the fentanyl crisis.
As the border crisis worsens, some Republicans have suggested life sentences for anyone convicted of trafficking fentanyl or the death penalty for those convicted of selling or distributing the harmful and deadly drug.
300 Americans are murdered each day by fentanyl.
It’s the leading killer of young people, 18-34, in America.
Today, I introduced an amendment to H.R. 467 to give the death penalty to criminals who intentionally or knowingly import fentanyl across our Southern border. pic.twitter.com/muoHxMvd61
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) May 22, 2023
Late last year, Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar introduced The Death Penalty for Dealing Fentanyl Act of 2022, which would punish those convicted of selling or distributing fentanyl with the death penalty or life in prison.
“Instead of reducing prison sentences for drug offenders, it is long past time that those responsible for manufacturing or knowingly distributing fentanyl pay a heavy price,” Gosar said. “We must get tough on those criminals that are contributing to this drug crisis.”
“One of the many deeply troubling consequences of Joe Biden’s open border policies is the deadly flow of fentanyl across the southern border. Since Biden assumed office in January 2021, more than 1,000,000 pounds of illegal drugs have been seized, including 7,700 pounds of fentanyl in just the first five months of 2022. The overwhelming majority of fentanyl is smuggled across the border from Mexico,” he said at the time.
Gosar noted in his press release:
More Americans have died in the last 23 years of drug poisoning than in all combat losses combined since 1775:
Total number of U.S. deaths in World War 2: 406,000
Total number of U.S. deaths in the Korean War: 40,000
Total number of U.S. deaths in the Vietnam War: 58,000
Total number of U.S. deaths over 20 years in the War Against Terror (Iraq and Afghanistan, including contractors): 14,000
Total number of U.S. soldiers killed in battle in all conflicts since 1775: 651,000
Total number of drug poisoning deaths in the U.S. since 1999: 932,000
“Instead of reducing prison sentences for drug offenders, it is long past time that those who are responsible for manufacturing or knowingly distributing fentanyl pay a heavy price,” Gosar said.
President Joe Biden’s self-inflicted border crisis took a turn for the worse last week when U.S. officials apprehended an Afghan national who is on the U.S. terrorist watchlist.
According to Fox News, sources said the Afghan national entered the United States by crossing the border with a group of migrants near Otay Mesa, California. Upon their arrival, Border Patrol agents conducted routine processing, including a fingerprint scan, which revealed that the individual was a match on the Terrorist Screening Database. Subsequently, the FBI was alerted, verified the results, and then initiated an investigation.
The individual who was arrested crossed the border one day before the expiration of Title 42, a COVID-19 emergency policy that permitted border agents to reject migrants. Following the expiration of the policy, thousands of migrants have flooded the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox News added.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the lawmaker who represents the district where the Afghan national was apprehended, said that Biden’s border policies, which he implemented on his first day in office and which Republicans say triggered a two-year record influx of illegal immigration, attract terrorists.
“Biden’s open borders aren’t just a gateway to five million illegals, record human and child trafficking and the deadliest drug crisis in our history,” Issa said. “Biden’s reckless policy is also an open invitation to even the most wanted terrorists in the world to come to America. They know they’ll never have to leave.
“The nation knows what’s going on, and this president has only begun to be held accountable for what he has done,” Issa added.
The administration’s plan to quickly process and release migrants after Title 42 expired was set to take effect on Friday, however, but it was put on hold by a federal judge.