Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024
Are undocumented immigrants the primary source of fentanyl trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that was responsible for more than 74,000 overdose deaths across the U.S. in 2023 alone. It is most often produced abroad—originally in China and now other countries, including Mexico—and trafficked into the United States.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- US Sentencing Commission Fentanyl Trafficking
- Cato Institute U.S. Citizens Were 89% of Convicted Fentanyl Traffickers in 2022
- Centers for Disease Control U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018
- US Department of Homeland Security Fact Sheet: President’s State of the Union Highlights DHS Efforts on the Front Lines Combating Illicit Opioids, Including Fentanyl
- US Customs and Border Protection Strategy to Combat Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Drugs
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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