After meeting with Mexico's president, Senator Cornyn hopes flow of fentanyl into US will drop
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBSNewsTexas.com) – After leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to Mexico, Senator John Cornyn told CBS News Texas this week that the country's president agreed to do more to stem the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl into the U.S.
Along with Cornyn, the Texas lawmakers on the trip included Representatives Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, and Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio.
CDC statistics show more than 100,000 people across the U.S. died of drug overdoses last year.
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, Senators Cornyn and Ted Cruz grilled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas not only about fentanyl and drug overdoses, but also the recent record numbers of people who crossed the southern border into the U.S. illegally.
Cornyn told Mayorkas, "Well, you haven't been fired, you should be fired. But haven't been fired because you've been carrying out policies of the Biden administration."
Cruz said, "If you had any integrity, you would resign."
Mayorkas stood his ground. "My heart is with the victims of every death from an overdose, number one. Number two, we are bringing unprecedented force to the fight against the drug traffickers. Number three, the scourge of fentanyl is not new."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics show in fiscal year 2022, (October 2021 through September 2022) there were 2,378,944 people who were encountered or found along the southern border.
For the first five months of fiscal year 2023, agency records show there have been 1,029,953 people encountered or found along the southern border.
When asked if a bipartisan agreement to deal with illegal immigration is within reach as a result of their visit to Mexico, Cornyn said, "If there is a path, it is going to have to start with the House, they're going to have to pass a border security bill."
He said he hopes the House Republican majority will act quickly but estimated it could take a couple of more months for them to do so.
Both parties have previously blamed each other for failing to make an agreement over this issue.