Last week, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt told a panel of seasoned law enforcement experts and award-winning country music singers about a theme they're all witnessing firsthand: the expansion of fentanyl in the United States. talked about the crisis.

Britt opened with an urgent call to address the national security, humanitarian and economic crises at the US southern border. She believes this situation is exacerbating the flow of fentanyl into communities across the country.

Britt pointed out that it was over. 112,000 overdoses In 2023, they all represent real people with their own stories of pain, tragedy, and loss.

she outlined a number of things policy solutions It is included in more than 15 bills she has sponsored or co-sponsored aimed at resolving the border crisis.

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“We have to secure it with personnel, more personnel, physical barriers, technological barriers. We have to fix our broken asylum process. We have to fix the abuses of parole. We must stop them, increase domestic enforcement, enforce final removal orders, end catch-and-release, and return them to Mexico. We will ensure that and help prevent parole. It is our duty to the people of our great nation to help prevent the flow of fentanyl.”

Britt said the fentanyl leak is more than just a national security crisis.

“Make no mistake about it. This is a national security crisis, this is an economic crisis, this is a humanitarian crisis. The human cost is truly heartbreaking and heartbreaking. To the United States. With the massive influx of fentanyl in the country, no region is unaffected.”

“The day after Christmas, Alabama law enforcement seized enough fentanyl from two people in north Alabama to kill everyone in the state's two largest cities (combined). In just one seizure, You start thinking about that and the implications.”

The senator also released some shocking statistics.

“More than 379 million doses of fentanyl were seized across America in 2022, which is enough to kill every American or every Alabamian more than 75 times,” she said.

But for Britt, the lives lost are more than just numbers on paper.

“But I think it's really important to think about this crisis beyond simple statistics,” Britt says. “These numbers all represent real people. They represent pain, tragedy and loss. They all have faces and stories that are impacting every corner of our society.”

Jason “Jelly Roll” Deford, multiple CMT Music Award winner and Grammy nominee, expressed his gratitude for Sen. Britt's remarks. Deford, who lost a loved one to the fentanyl crisis, thanked Britt for his consideration.

“I want to add to your sentiments: The 109,000 people who died in America last year were human beings, and they are human beings,” Deford said. “They all meant funerals, eulogies, mothers, fathers, sons, children, cousins, uncles, people just like the people in this room.”

“I think it was really important that you said that. Thank you.”

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 45.

Austin Shipley is a staff writer at Yellowhammer News