Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) has introduced legislation to seize assets from drug traffickers to help fund border wall construction at the southern border and fight the nation’s opioid crisis. The Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act proposes using assets confiscated from drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations by agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to fund two critical initiatives. The proposed funds, the “Southern Border Wall Fulfillment Fund” and the “Combating the Fentanyl Epidemic Fund,” would be overseen by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and would be used to combat the alarming impact of the fentanyl crisis on rural communities and bolster efforts to complete the border wall. Feenstra says, “Criminal drug traffickers have smuggled enough fentanyl into our country to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, and tragically, too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to this deadly crisis. As a father of four, I’m proud to introduce the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act, which will fund two separate priorities – building the border wall and supporting fentanyl treatment and recovery services – with assets confiscated from the drug cartels by our brave border patrol agents. While President Biden has failed to uphold his oath of office and secure our border, I remain committed to delivering real solutions to the border crisis by beating the drug traffickers at their own game and using their illegal financial gains to finish the border wall and support our families.” A link to the bill’s full text is included with this story on our website. While the legislation is likely to gain support in the Republican-controlled House, it has little chance of gaining approval in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
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