Overdose. Heroin. Opioids. More and more Americans find these words creeping into conversation at their own kitchen tables today.
Our nation’s families and communities are being ravaged by the opioid epidemic. With 115 people dying every day in this country from opioid overdoses, this new reality of suffering and death calls for our deepest focus and most passionate resolve.
Unfortunately, sanctuary city policies often prevent local law enforcement from coordinating with federal law enforcement to deport illegal immigrant heroin traffickers. By depriving them of the ability to work together on the same team, these policies only make our communities more dangerous.
Denver, the capital of my home state, is both a hub for heroin trafficking and a sanctuary city. Since last August, the mayor and city council have banned communication between Denver Police officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, unless those ICE agents have a warrant from a federal judge or magistrate.
This means police officers can no longer check the immigration status of illegal aliens arrested for heroin-related crimes. In turn, it means that some of those individuals are then released back into our city.
I don’t think the mayor or city council set out to create a policy in Denver that protects drug traffickers. But their sanctuary city policy has nevertheless served to protect and enable those who participate in this deadly opioid trade.
“In the past several years,” stated David A. Thompson, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Denver in 2016, “much of the heroin resurgence in the Denver area can be traced to criminal aliens smuggling, transporting, and distributing this illegal drug.” In 2016, ICE worked with local law enforcement in Denver to arrest over 59 individuals contributing to heroin trafficking — many of whom were illegal immigrants.
If local authorities cannot communicate with ICE to check immigration status and deport illegal aliens who play an important role in the heroin trade in Colorado and other sanctuary cities, then many of those individuals will end up back out on the streets.
That’s why I urge Denver and other sanctuary cities around the United States to revise their sanctuary policies, allowing local law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities so that, as a team, we can all better fight the heroin epidemic in this country.
The president of the police union in Denver, Nick Rogers, agrees. A 32-year veteran on the force, he testified before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee in February to explain how the lack of cooperation between local and federal authorities makes the battle against heroin trafficking all the more difficult.
Americans can come to a consensus solution to this problem. We’re simply asking cities to revise policies that handcuff local officers from utilizing every tool at their disposal to rid our streets of heroin traders and the toxic substances they traffic.
No family wants to sit around the dinner table discussing how loved ones are addicted to drugs. Government at all levels—federal, state, and local—have stepped up to fight this crisis. But we need sanctuary cities to set aside their political posturing and join the team.
We have a long war ahead of us, but together, in cooperation, I believe we can fight back the scourge of heroin and opioid abuse in this nation.
Ken Buck, a Republican member of the U.S. House, represents Colorado’s fourth congressional district.
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