President Trump used his weekly address to associate a surge in opioid overdose deaths with local governments not cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
“Every day, an average of 116 Americans die from an opioid-related overdose. This is a national crisis that demands immediate action,“ Trump said.
After discussing his recently announced administration strategy of drug-use prevention, tougher penalties for dealers, and more drug treatment, Trump said opioid abuse is linked to local immigration-enforcement policies.
“If our brave federal agents are going to be successful in stopping this deadly epidemic, then we must stop lawless sanctuary cities. Sanctuary cities release thousands of dangerous criminal aliens into our communities — including drug traffickers, drug dealers, and vicious gang members,” he said.
“In fact, several of the criminal aliens who got away in Oakland after the mayor helped them evade capture have already committed new crimes — crimes that could have been easily prevented if not for Oakland’s Dangerous Sanctuary Policies,” he said. “It is no coincidence that six of the biggest heroin markets in the United States are sanctuary cities. More than 40 percent of heroin coming across the southern border is transported through California — a sanctuary state.”
Trump did not cite a source for his assertion that 40 percent of heroin from Mexico arrives through California, or share the percentages for Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the other states along the southern border.
He continued: “Drug cartels have transformed sanctuary cities like Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York into major distribution centers, because the criminal aliens in the drug trade know that local politicians will help them evade authorities. Sanctuary cities put innocent Americans at the mercy of hardened criminals and heartless drug dealers. These are bad people. We want our cities to be safe-havens for Americans, not criminal aliens. It is time for Congress to cut off funds for sanctuary cities and to close the loopholes that allow drugs and criminals to violate our borders.”
