Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is leading a letter from state AGs to the Trump administration urging them to crack down on a "loophole" that allows cartels to ship fentanyl to the U.S. (Getty Images)
"We're looking at over a billion packages shipped through this loophole last year," Coleman said. "That's in an environment where, I would argue, we're facing a threat that has never existed before, and that is this, no margin of error environment in which we're trying to raise families and protect families, and that is an environment where as little as one pill can and is killing people can and is killing folks Kentuckians."
Coleman said they urged the Biden administration to look into the program, and now, they are hoping the Trump administration will respond to a letter they sent Monday. Most of the shipments are arriving from Mexico and China, he said.
"Entry Type 86 now accounts for 75% of all de minimis goods entering the United States, with shipments increasing from 153 million in 2015 to more than 1.2 billion in 2024," the AGs wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "Any surge of this magnitude requires further study, especially when it comes to potential challenges within our customs enforcement system. It raises serious concerns about the flood of deadly drugs coming."
Bags of opioid pills are shown in this photo from a DEA raid. (DEA Rocky Mountain Division/X)
President Donald Trump has taken several steps to crack down on drug cartels since assuming office in January. Trump signed an executive order designating major Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartels, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, allowing for actions such as freezing assets of individuals or groups supporting these cartels and enhances criminal penalties.
Additionally, following significant arrests of cartel leaders, the administration authorized intelligence agencies, including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office, to use satellite surveillance to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border.
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In addition to Kentucky's Coleman, attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming joined in on the letter.
Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Jamie Joseph is a U.S. Politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering transgender and culture issues, the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and stateside legislative developments.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-ags-urge-trump-crack-down-obscure-loophole-cartels-use-flood-u-s-fentanyl