Governor Greg Abbott blames Texas’ fentanyl problem on Biden’s border policy
Gov. Greg Abbott discussed a new criminal offense for the distribution of fentanyl during a Thursday press conference at the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office and blamed an increasing use of the opioid on President Joe Biden’s border policies.
Abbott’s arrival to Fort Worth comes amid an increase in fentanyl overdose cases and deaths in the city and surrounding areas, a trend that the governor said is happening statewide.
Abbott said in the first four months of this year, the Texas Department of Public Safety has seized 95 pounds of fentanyl, compared to 11 pounds all of last year. He said fentanyl seizures in Tarrant County have more than doubled this year, with 52 grams seized in 2020 and 137 grams seized this year.
Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, has been a major cause in the rise of opioid overdoses nationwide in the past several years.
Abbott joined Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn and Mansfield Police Chief Tracy Aaron to discuss the issue.
Abbott also said he’ll soon sign Senate Bill 768, which will create a new criminal offense for the manufacture or delivery of fentanyl and related substances. First offense would be a third-degree felony, making it one of the toughest drug laws in Texas.
The governor is focusing the blame for the increasing opioid issue on the Biden administration. He said fentanyl is being trafficked by Mexican cartels coming through the southern border, prompted by a lack of federal border security.
“It’s clear that Biden’s open border policies are unleashing deadly consequences right here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,” he said.
Abbott said he has deployed 1,000 DPS troopers and National Guard members to the border to combat the issue.
Synthetic opioid-related deaths have been steadily increasing in the state as early as 2018, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, said Abbott is simply diverting attention from things like the February power outages and his recent anti-mask policies.
“Calling the U.S. borders ‘open’ is laughable and Greg Abbott knows it,” he said. “Once again, Abbott is trying to deflect from the failures of his own leadership.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 4:34 PM.
