Citizenship Qualification Sought for Apportionment, Electoral College

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Citizenship Qualification Sought for Apportionment, Electoral College

(Alan Wooten, The Center Square) The bill requiring that the count for apportionment in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Electoral College, include only U.S. citizens has passed the House and been sent to the Senate.

The measure proposed by U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C.., passed the chamber 206-202 with no Democrats for it and no Republicans against it. On Thursday it was read for the first time in the Senate, where Democrats have a majority and similar legislation has been introduced and parked to go nowhere.

In 2020 and years before, the decennial census count included all persons. Prompting the proposal is the radical change in American border security, which began in 2021 when Joe Biden succeeded Donald Trump as the President of the United States.

Since then, reports from the government, The Center Square, and other media outlets indicate possibly more than 11 million people have come into or are living in the country illegally. Blame and focus have been shifted to intentionally score political points, including Democrats saying the Republicans are the cause and vice versa.

Speaking on the House floor, Edwards said, “Though commonsense dictates that only citizens should be counted for apportionment purposes, illegal aliens have nonetheless recently been counted toward the final tallies that determine how many House seats each state is allocated and the number of electoral votes it will wield in presidential elections. And since the illegal alien population is not evenly distributed throughout the nation, American citizens in some states are losing representation in Congress to illegal aliens in other states.”

He confirmed a history lesson, noting a citizenship question was on the census from 1820 until removal in 1960. It was taken off because illegal immigration was negligible. In 2016, Trump by executive order restored it to the questionnaire.

“To be a member of a political community,” Edwards said, “you must be an eligible voter. Illegal immigrants and non-citizens are not eligible voters.

“Our lawless immigration system is already shaking the confidence of the American people in countless ways. Without reforms to how our census is conducted, confidence in the integrity of our electoral system could be eroded entirely in the coming decade.”

House Resolution 7109 was not voted on by 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats, including North Carolina Reps. Patrick McHenry and Dr. Greg Murphy on the GOP side and Valerie Foushee among Democrats. Murphy did make his feelings known in a statement, saying, “As a co-sponsor, I am wholeheartedly against the efforts by the Biden administration to influence congressional district census manipulation.

“We must fight this obvious attempt to swing elections for Democrats, who unanimously voted against it.”

Gallup polling released on April 30 asked respondents the most important problem facing America, and 27% said immigration. The government was second at 18%. In January, both got over 20% with the government slightly ahead.

The estimate of people entering or living in the country illegally since Biden took office has exceeded 11 million. His recent “strategy” proposal on immigration was crushed by critics.

Said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, “Biden inherited the most secure border with the lowest illegal immigration since last century. With the stroke of a pen, he proudly ended those secure border policies and opened the border to more than 11 million illegal immigrants from more than 150 different countries – including known terrorists, murderers, and rapists. Now, desperately grasping to salvage his failed presidency, President Biden attempts the most minimal action possible, hoping to mask the crisis he created.”

Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced similar legislation in Senate Resolution 4292. Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., responded on social media to Lee’s post writing, “This shouldn’t even be a question. Only U.S. citizens should vote in federal elections.”

Lee’s proposal, with Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., one of eight co-sponsors, is parked in the rules committee of the chamber with 49 Republicans, 48 Democrats and three independents caucusing with Democrats that provides party majority.

Bishop is one of 114 co-sponsors to Edwards’ proposal, as is fellow North Carolinians Murphy and David Rouzer.

Trump Tax Cuts Becoming Important Election Year Issue

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Trump Tax Cuts Becoming Important Election Year Issue

(Casey Harper, The Center Square) – The sweeping Trump-era tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire next year, setting up the tax debate as a potentially key political issue this election year.

While illegal immigration and inflation top Americans’ list of concerns, both parties are increasingly talking about the Trump-era tax cuts, which Joe Biden has said he will allow to expire next year.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has promised more tax cuts if elected.

“You’re all getting the biggest tax cuts because we’re doing additional cuts and a brand new Trump economic boom like you’ve never seen before,” Trump told supporters at a South Carolina rally in February.

As The Center Square previously reported, the issue came to a head last week when the CBO released a report estimating that extending the Trump tax cuts would increase the national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade.

Expiring provisions include the significantly larger child tax credit, the death tax exemptions for farmers, and lower taxes for small businesses, among many others.

The White House has said Americans paying over $400,000 will not pay more in taxes, but independent tax analysis have contradicted that claim.

“Without congressional action, most taxpayers will see a notable tax increase relative to current policy in 2026,” the Tax Foundation said in its analysis.

Critics of the the Trump-era tax cuts pointed to the CBO costs and said the cuts disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

The CBO analysis gave some cover for Biden as the national debt nears $35 trillion.

Supporters of the tax cuts argue Americans who are already struggling with elevated inflation and gas prices will pay more.

“President Biden said that if he was reelected, he would allow the Trump tax cuts to expire,” Preston Brashers, an economist at the Heritage Foundation, told The Center Square. “This wouldn’t just break his pledge not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $400,000, it would obliterate it. If Biden lets the Trump tax cuts expire, Americans earning less than $400,000 will be saddled with a tax hike of more than $2 trillion over 10 years.

“You can quibble about the precise size of the tax hike, but it’s undeniable that an expiration of the Trump tax cuts would hit the middle class,” he added.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-MO., and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, released a statement defending the tax cuts, which were passed into law in 2017 after Trump took office.

Conservative economists usually argue that when more money is put in the hands of private citizens, it is used to create more wealth and jobs whereas money put into the hands of the government does not lead to the same level of wealth creation and growth, often lost to bureaucracy, waste, and poor spending choices.

The lawmakers said that the economic growth produced by the tax cuts outweighed the extra cost. Over time, more economic growth significantly increases the amount of taxable income for the government as well.

“The truth is, the Trump tax cuts resulted in economic growth that was a full percentage point above CBO’s forecast, and federal revenues far outpaced the agency’s predictions,” the lawmakers said. “In fact, under Trump tax policies in 2022, tax revenues reached a record high of nearly $5 trillion, and revenues averaged $205 billion above CBO predictions for the four years following implementation of the law.”

Economic analysis from the Tax Foundation helps bolster the economic growth argument.

“Tax Foundation estimates permanence for TCJA would create about 904,000 full-time equivalent jobs, ranging from more than 136,000 jobs in California and 75,000 jobs in Texas to about 1,660 new jobs in Vermont,” the group said in its analysis.

The CBO debt stats are a tough blow for Republicans as they fight for extending those tax cuts. They pointed to other key statistics, though, left out of the criticism of the Trump-era tax cuts.

“The officially reported poverty level fell to its lowest rate in 50 years and unemployment rates for minorities and those without a college degree hit all-time lows,” the lawmakers said. “Real median household income rose by $5,000, and wages went up by nearly 5 percent. Americans earning under $100,000 saw an average tax cut of 16 percent. And while the tax burden on low-income families went down, the top one percent saw their share of federal taxes go up.”

If the cuts expire, costs for American taxpayers will increase.

“On the other hand, President Biden’s promise for the expiration of the Trump tax cuts means a family of four making $75,000 today will owe Uncle Sam an extra $1,500 in taxes,” the lawmakers said. “The Child Tax Credit will be slashed in half; small businesses will see their tax rates top 40 percent; and farmers may have to weigh selling the family business to pay a rising death tax.”

Clinton’s Musical Flops Just Weeks After Debut, Much Like Her 2016 Campaign

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Clinton’s Musical Flops Just Weeks After Debut, Much Like Her 2016 Campaign

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Hillary Clinton, the two-time failed presidential candidate who has since become an election denier and conspiracy theorist, has ventured into a new endeavor: producing a Broadway musical.

However, much like her defeat in the 2016 election, her show, titled Suffs, is struggling to attract audiences, with ticket sales reportedly languishing. 

According to box office data reviewed by Breitbart, the Clinton-produced production has only managed to sell approximately 81% of its seating capacity.  

This places Suffs in the bottom eight out of 35 shows currently running on Broadway, as reported by Breitbart, citing data from the Broadway Threatte Industry. 

Among the other shows currently gracing Broadway stages are popular productions like Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, Romeo & Juliet, Sweeney Todd and Moulin Rouge! The Musical. 

Suffs initially premiered as an off-Broadway production at The Public Theater in New York. It focuses on the women’s rights movement of 1913, led by the suffragists (or Suffs), according to the Broadway show’s webpage. 

In addition to receiving Clinton’s endorsement, the musical is co-produced by Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris and daughter of attorney Maya Harris. 

Clinton has made several appearances on news shows to promote the musical, including a brief stint on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, CBS’s Sunday Morning and most recently, MSNBC’s Morning Joe. 

“It has been an extraordinary thrill for me,” Clinton told MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski during an interview on Thursday.  

While seemingly downplaying the relatively low attendance, Clinton added, “I was so happy that a story about women’s history was coming across to the audience. … When I go and I hear the audience cheering and laughing—I go to a lot of Broadway theater, because I love the theater—but this is such a special experience.” 

It isn’t immediately clear whether Clinton has been involved in any marketing or sales plans for the show.  

Suffs‘s management company, 101 Productions, did not immediately respond to Headline USA’s request for comment via email before the late Saturday night publication of this piece. 

Trump’s Roasting of ‘Fool’ Biden Draws 100K Supporters in ‘Biggest Rally Yet’

Luis Cornelio
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Trump’s Roasting of ‘Fool’ Biden Draws 100K Supporters in ‘Biggest Rally Yet’

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of attacks against embattled President Joe Biden at a Saturday campaign rally, touted as “the biggest” by his campaign thus far.

Addressing a crowd of approximately 100,000, Trump wasted no time after taking the stage, accompanied by the anthem of Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA. 

“You could take the 10 worst presidents in the history of our country, and add them up .. and they haven’t done the damage to our country that this total moron has done,” Trump said, as reported by the New York Post.

“He’s a fool, he’s not a smart man. He never was,” Trump lambasted Biden’s perceived lack of mental acuity.

“He was considered stupid. I talk about him differently now because now, the gloves are off,” the former president continued, intensifying his critique of his Democratic opponent. “He’s a bad guy … he’s the worst president ever, of any country. The whole world is laughing at him, he’s a fool.” 

According to estimates from the Trump campaign and other sources cited by the New York Post, between 80,000 and 100,000 individuals attended the rally—surpassing any previous record for a campaign rally in New Jersey. 

Trump received endorsements from NFL icons Lawrence Taylor and Ottis Jerome Anderson at the event.

The monumental rally and endorsements arrive as Trump maintains his momentum leading up to the 2024 general election, where he is poised to challenge Biden once again. 

During his address, Trump laid out his vision for New Jersey voters, declaring, “If Joe Biden wins this election, the middle class loses, New Jersey loses. But if Trump wins, the middle class wins, the people of low income really start winning again, and you’re all going for the American Dream.” 

DOJ Urges Decades in Jail for Pelosi’s Attacker, Contrary to Ex-Speaker’s Sentencing Reform

Luis Cornelio
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DOJ Urges Decades in Jail for Pelosi’s Attacker, Contrary to Ex-Speaker’s Sentencing Reform

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The DOJ has recommended a 40-year federal prison sentence for the man who attempted to kidnap former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Such a recommendation is a stark departure from the Democrat’s previous advocacy for criminal justice reform.

“Members of Congress came together to write a bill that reduces the impact of draconian mandatory minimums, and makes progress to address discriminatory sentencing laws,” Pelosi remarked in 2018, after the passage of the First Step Act.

She continued, “Its positive prison reforms for pregnant prisoners, juvenile prisoners, prisoners with substance abuse disorders and other low-risk inmates respect the spark of divinity within us all that makes us all worthy of respect.”

Enter David DePape, the man convicted of atrocious acts against the Pelosi family.

The recommendation for a 40-year federal prison sentence followed DePape’s intrusion into Nancy Pelosi’s residence on October 28, 2022, during which he brutally attacked her husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer.

As a result, DePape was charged and subsequently found guilty of attempting to kidnap the former speaker and assaulting an immediate family member of a U.S. official with the intent to “impede, intimidate, or interfere” with government business. 

DePape is also facing state charges related to assault, including attempted murder, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment in state jail. 

DePape’s vicious assault on Paul Pelosi came amid widespread criticism of soft-on crime policies and debates over illegal immigration at the southern border.

Despite having no prior arrests, DePape was allegedly in the country illegally, having overstayed his non-immigrant U.S. visa from Canada.

“Because he apparently had no prior criminal convictions, DePape would not have been considered a ‘priority’ for removal under Biden administration DHS guidelines,” noted Andre R. Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, in a report published Nov. 3, 2022. 

He further stated, “Any time during his unlawful presence in the United States, DePape could have been removed back to Canada. But that did not happen, even though it appears he was arrested on local charges for trespass in San Francisco sometime around 2003.” 

Commie Activists Use Pro-Palestine Protests to Foment ‘Real Revolution’

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Commie Activists Use Pro-Palestine Protests to Foment ‘Real Revolution’

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Communist organizations are using pro-Palestine protests in New York City to promote physical revolution and escalation of conflict in pamphlets.

Multiple communist groups met on May 7, 2024, at Revolution Books in Harlem, Manhattan, and discussed “gathering forces for revolution,” the Epoch Times reported. 

“Nobody is an outsider when it comes to fighting injustice. Everybody has a right and responsibility to do that. And we need to bring to them the way out of this mess, where it’s coming from and why it can be ended. And how it can be ended in a real revolution. And the fact that right now is a time when revolution is more possible. This is something we need to seize on,” Carl Dix, a representative of the Revolutionary Communist Party, said.

One of the groups, Revolutionary Internationalist Youth (RIY), took credit for participating in many of the protests that are happening all around the country.

A pamphlet that was given out during the May 6, 2024, “Day of Rage” protest revealed that the Internationalist Group and RIY claimed to “have been present daily at solidarity protests outside Columbia University, as well as at the New School and NYU.”

“Strike committees are necessary to mobilize nationwide for a coordinated strike. It can be the spark that spreads a fire more broadly in society, crucially to the labor movement which has the power to stop arms shipments,” another pamphlet written by Marxist newspaper Workers Vanguard titled “Escalate the Struggle! National Student Strike to Free Palestine” stated.

The pamphlet included phone numbers and emails for the newspaper’s different branches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Oakland, Calif.

RevCom Corps, another group, also has been active in the pro-Palestinian protests, calling for “emancipation of humanity” and “physical revolution.”

It was also previously reported by the Publica that the “leaders” of the pro-Palestine student protests released internal guidance on how to occupy college campuses and engage in other criminal activities.

The Washington Free Beacon also discovered that far-left activist groups and Islamic organizations are pressing American politicians to block a bipartisan proposal to strip tax-exempt status from nonprofits that provide material support to terrorist organizations.

RFK Jr. Vacationed in Cuba, Praised Communist Dictator Fidel Castro

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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RFK Jr. Vacationed in Cuba, Praised Communist Dictator Fidel Castro

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proved once again that he was not as moderate as he wanted voters to believe after it was revealed that he praised communist Cuba and its infamous dictatorial leader, Fidel Castro. 

In 1996, RFK Jr. visited Cuba to spread “climate change” propaganda as part of a delegation with the National Resources Defense Council, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

He then came back in 2014 and has since praised Cuba’s socialist health care system, adding that the country produces healthier citizens than the United States.

Also, in a November 2023 interview, RFK Jr. positively talked about Castro, remembering the time he and his children spent with the communist dictator, calling him “incredibly charming.”

“He was very, very kind to me and my family and he had a very open, engaged mind and I talked to him about a million things,” RFK Jr. said.

He even claimed that, while he was closely working with Castro, he was able to stop Cuba from developing a nuclear power plant and instead introduce Castro to “new European turbines” and gas power.

“We were asking him not to build it, and ultimately he held its construction,” RFK Jr. said.

Shortly after visiting the country in 2014, RFK Jr. posted a photo of himself and his sons diving underwater off the coast of Cuba.

Most Americans were barred from directly traveling to the country at the time, until Barack Obama, another communist sympathizer, relaxed Cuban travel restrictions in 2016.

RFK Jr.’s children also received “lengthy letters” from Castro, with one of RFK Jr.’s sons, Connor, going as far as praising and defending the Cuban regime in a 2014 essay for the far-left website EcoWatch.

“While we blame Cuba for not allowing their citizens to travel freely to the U.S., we restrict our own citizens from traveling freely to Cuba. In that sense, the embargo seems particularly anti-American. Why does my passport say that I can’t visit Cuba? Why can’t I go where I want to go?” the son wrote.

Terrorist Watch List Apprehensions at Northern Border Continue to Break Records

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Terrorist Watch List Apprehensions at Northern Border Continue to Break Records

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) – The number of known or suspected terrorists apprehended at the northern border in the first six months of fiscal 2024 continue to outpace those apprehended at the southwest border.

There have been 143 known or suspected terrorists apprehended at the northern border through the first six months of this fiscal year compared to 92 at the southwest border, according to the most recent CBP data.

Those apprehended are known to law enforcement and in the national Terrorist Screening Dataset, a federal database that contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watchlist “to house information on known or suspected terrorists but evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” CBP explains.

This is after the greatest number of foreign nationals were apprehended illegally entering through the northern border than at any time in U.S. history during the same time period, The Center Square reported.

The greatest number of known or suspected terrorists to ever be apprehended in U.S. history was at the northern border in fiscal 2023 of 484. The next greatest number to be apprehended in U.S. history was 313 at the northern border in fiscal 2022, according to CBP data.

Overall, the greatest combined number of known or suspected terrorists apprehended at both the northern and southerns borders was in fiscal 2023 of 736, The Center Square reported. The greatest number of known or suspected terrorists have historically been apprehended at the northern border, outpacing those apprehended at the southwest border for years, The Center Square first reported.

“The alarming conclusion from these numbers is every day we have individuals that are on the FBI terrorist watch list that could have an intention to harm our country and are entering every single day,” former Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan told The Center Square. “It’s not if or when the threat tries to come to our country. We already know that’s happening already. The threat is already here,” he said, referring to the at least two million gotaways, those who illegally entered the country and evaded capture.

While total illegal entries at the northern border are “minuscule” compared to the southwest border, “the threat is not,” he said. “While there are shortages of resources across the board, the northern border doesn’t have the infrastructure, technology, personnel that the southwest border has. The northern border represents a threat.”
In his 30-plus-year law enforcement career, Morgan also served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He also served for 20 years with the FBI in multiple capacities, targeting organized crime, gangs, and counterterrorism operations, among others.

Morgan was among a group of retired FBI counterintelligence officials to warn Congress in January that the presidents’ border policies had facilitated a “soft invasion” into the U.S. of military-age men coming from terror-linked regions, China and Russia.

“It would be difficult to overstate the danger represented by the presence inside our borders of what is comparatively a multi-division army of young single adult males from hostile nations and regions whose background, intent, or allegiance is completely unknown,” they warned. “They include individuals encountered by border officials and then possibly released into the country, along with the shockingly high estimate of ‘gotaways,’ meaning those who have entered and evaded apprehension.”

Of the more than 11 million foreign nationals who have illegally entered the U.S. since January 2021, the majority are single military age men, The Center Square has reported.

Every year the numbers break previous records; this fiscal year is no different. More than 1.7 million foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. in the first six months of fiscal 2024, the greatest number for this time period in U.S. history, The Center Square reported.

Among them are individuals with ties to the terrorist group ISIS, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned earlier this year, after making repeated remarks about heightened terrorist threats since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

House Republicans have demanded answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on how many known or suspected terrorists have been released into the country.

U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, introduced a bill to require federal agents to screen everyone who enters the country illegally against the terrorist watch list.

Morgan praised the work of CBP and Border Patrol agents apprehending known or suspected terrorists but also raised concerns about those who weren’t being caught due to the sheer volume coming in and the fact that agents have been pulled away from their national security mandate.

“Every single day we have individuals on FBI terrorist watch list who are trying to come into the country,” Morgan told The Center Square. “If you think we are catching everybody, you live in a dream world. If you think we are able to identify everyone on the watch list as well, that’s not happening either.

“How many on the watchlist that we’ve apprehended who illegally came into the U.S. were released? How many have claimed asylum and we’ve let them in?

“Countless national security threats have gotten by us, and they are in the United States. We know nothing about them, where they are at, or what they are planning to do.”

Vance Wants to Cut Aid from Schools that Don’t Remove Camps

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Vance Wants to Cut Aid from Schools that Don’t Remove Camps

(J.D. Davidson, The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance wants to withhold federal money from colleges and universities across the nation that refuse to remove disruptive encampments from the campuses.

The Ohio Republican said pro-Palestinian protesters that have emerged on campuses over the past several weeks hate America and called the encampments a national embarrassment.

“We cannot allow people who hate our country to turn campuses into garbage dumps,” Vance said. “My legislation will force colleges to follow the law, protect their students, and shut these encampments down. If they refuse, they’ll pay a hefty price. It’s time to end this national embarrassment.”

He introduced the Encampments or Endowments Act that would stop colleges and universities from receiving federal financial assistance if they do not remove the camps within seven days if teaching, research or other key functions of the school are disrupted.

If schools do not remove the camps, they would not be eligible for things like institutional and student aid – such as Pell grants and federal loans – for five years.

Also, schools would be required to provide the same grant-based student aid at the school’s expense. If it doesn’t, it would face a tax equal to 50% of its endowment assets.

Earlier this week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued a warning to college and university leadership that students arrested during protests at Ohio colleges and universities and wearing masks could see misdemeanor charges turned into felonies.

The law went into effect in 1953 and was aimed at the Ku Klux Klan.

According to news reports, at least 40 people were arrested at Ohio State during protests in April, all being charged with criminal trespassing.

Many of the protestors on several Ohio campuses have worn masks, either black-and-white-checkered masks or medical face masks.

A violation of the state’s anti-disguise law is a fourth-degree felony punishable by between six and 18 months in jail, up to $5,000 in fines and five years of community control.

Fentanyl Coming to U.S. Becoming More Deadly, DEA Says

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Fentanyl Coming to U.S. Becoming More Deadly, DEA Says

(Brett Rowland, The Center Square) – The illicit fentanyl coming from Mexican cartels is becoming more dangerous, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The purity level of illicit fentanyl in the U.S. drug market has increased and the amount of fentanyl found in counterfeit prescription pills has increased, making the nation’s top drug threat even more dangerous, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s most recent National Drug Threat Assessment.

A lethal dose of the potent opioid is about 2 milligrams, depending on the opioid tolerance of the user.

In 2022, the average fentanyl pill contained 2.4 milligrams of fentanyl, according to analysis by DEA forensic chemists who test random samples of the fentanyl seized in the U.S. Overall, the tested samples ranged from a low of .03 milligrams to a high of 9 milligrams.

“DEA forensic laboratory results documented that approximately 7 out of 10 fake pills contain a deadly dose of fentanyl,” according to the report.

That’s up from 4 in 10 pills in 2021.

The purity of powdered fentanyl has increased. The average purity of the fentanyl powder samples was 19.2% in 2022, a 33% increase since 2021. The overall tested samples ranged from almost no fentanyl to 81.5% pure fentanyl.

Those numbers underscore the threat the drug poses to users, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. She blamed the growing illicit fentanyl problem on two Mexican drug cartels making synthetic drugs with precursor chemicals from China.

“At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates,” Milgram said in a statement.

Illicit fentanyl killed nearly 38,000 Americans in the first six months of 2023, according to the DEA report. Synthetic opioids were involved in 74,225 deaths in 2022 – 68% of the total 111,036 deaths that year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“These two Cartels are global criminal enterprises that have developed global supply chain networks. They rely on chemical companies and pill press companies in China to supply the precursor chemicals and pill presses needed to manufacture the drugs,” Milgram wrote in a letter released with the assessment. “They operate clandestine labs in Mexico where they manufacture these drugs, and then utilize their vast distribution networks to transport the drugs into the United States.”

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