Currently, most headlines about Arizona Senator Kirsten Cinema are about whether she will run for re-election in 2024.

Cinema recently became independent, will leave the Democratic Party and turn the 2024 election upside down. Rep. Ruben Gallego has announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination, and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb is running on the Republican side. The big question is whether there will be a third-party candidate Cinema in this election.

she hasn’t said it yet.

The show got on the phone with Ms. Cinema in Washington, D.C., and began talking about the bipartisan bill she’s working to address the growing fentanyl crisis in her community.

interview highlights

A film about the fentanyl regulation legislation just passed by the Senate Banking Committee.

We all have friends and family affected by this fentanyl crisis. And as chairman of a subcommittee of the Executive Committee, I work on this issue and know how cartels are smuggling fentanyl into our communities and destroying livelihoods.

So, this bill that we passed in the Banking Commission this week. The No Fentanyl Act strengthens the response to the fentanyl crisis and regulates the flow of fentanyl into Arizona. So the first thing our bill does is require the Treasury Department to deploy sanctions and resources. That’s how we target the sources of funding for criminal cartels. And we track the trail of funds, making it difficult for traffickers to launder money to cover up their crimes. … We know that their cartels are running this fentanyl operation not because they care about a particular drug, but because they care about money. This is their business. It’s no secret that fentanyl has become a disaster across the country. Therefore, tracking funds, cracking down on money laundering and sanctioning them can stop the flow of fentanyl.

Although we haven’t seen the massive immigration surge that many expected after the end of Title 42, asylum applications take years to process. Case, And there is a large backlog of cases in immigration courts. What do you think is the best way to approach this now that Title 42 is gone?

First, while the country may not be seeing an unexpectedly large influx of immigrants into the United States, communities in the Arizona border region are dealing with this crisis on a daily basis, and levels of immigration are increasing. I think it’s important to pay attention to the fact that

Today, the number of people crossing borders is three to four times what it was just a few years ago. So this crisis is nothing new. The situation is getting worse year by year, and continues even after governments have failed to take action. So Southern Arizona is in crisis. Our mayors, sheriffs, and those working bravely at our borders are overwhelmed by the numbers. And I continue to lead delegations of lawmakers and senators to the southern Arizona border so they can see firsthand the challenges we face and discuss real solutions. Therefore, I continue to focus on real solutions to change the problem in the long run.

What are your thoughts on the changes the Biden administration introduced to ease the end of Title 42?

First of all, seeking asylum in the United States is a long-protected right. It changes the mechanism by which individuals apply by requiring individuals to apply in their home country or in a safe third country en route to the United States. Affects personal, private liberty or freedom. The aim is to create a more orderly and safer system that will help prevent the worst humanitarian crisis immigrants have experienced in recent years due to an unchecked and unruly process.

Are you planning to run for re-election in 2024?

I don’t want to talk about that today, Lauren. I am 100% focused on what I do in Arizona and the results I continue to deliver for my voters. We’ll have time to talk about politics later, but now people in Arizona really want to know what I’m doing to make their lives a little easier.

Do you know when it will be decided?

Well, I’ll have something to say about that when the time comes, Lauren.

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