Devan Markham and Robert Sherman

53 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The House Homeland Security Committee held its first crisis hearing at the border on Tuesday about how Mexican drug cartels are fueling the fentanyl crisis.

Republicans on the committee stressed that every state is becoming a border state as the crisis floods into the country.

Michigan mother Rebecca Kiesling told lawmakers on Tuesday that both her sons Caleb and Tyler died after taking synthetic opiates that came from Mexico.

“My children were taken from me,” said Kiesling. “You are welcoming drug dealers across the border. You are giving them protection, but you are not protecting our children.”

Her testimony reflected the position of House Republicans that the fentanyl crisis was a direct result of the border crisis.

“We don’t need a purple chair in our house. We need a purple chair in Congress. We need a purple chair in the White House. To never forget all those who are being slaughtered. This is war! That Do something about it!”
Kiesling testified On Capital Hill in front of the Homeland Security Commission.

Local law enforcement in Arizona claimed the federal government wasn’t tough enough.

“The problem is that we have allowed weak policies in place at the national level, and our border tenacity creates opportunities for cartels.” Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb told the commission.

Committee chair Rep. Mark Green (R-Tn.) blamed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorcas.

“Majorcas lied when he said he had operational control of the border and that fentanyl was killing Americans,” he said. “Let’s be clear, Majorcas lied and Americans are dying.”

Democrats fought back, telling Republicans to stop blaming and start presenting solutions that might get passed by Congress.

But it’s become a never-ending battle against cartels, and with each bankruptcy, more drugs are pouring into the US.

in deaths from Overdose Today, more than 100,000 Americans are involved in drug trafficking each year, the deadliest criminal activity in America today, NewsNation Affiliates Hill reported.

Earlier this week, agents in the San Diego sector, 75 miles inland, seized 232 pounds of fentanyl. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz tweeted. Tens of thousands of Americans die each year from overdoses.

Agent said this happens all the time. An asylum-seeking migrant is sent across the border by the cartels as a diversion he is sent to one place, and then drugs come across the border just down the river. Law enforcement explained that the humanitarian issue needs to be resolved before the drug issue can be addressed.

NewsNation Affiliate border report Contributed to this report.