It is US citizens who are the drug smugglers, not illegal immigrants

[waterwatcher123]

"U.S. Citizens Were 89% of Convicted Fentanyl Traffickers in 2022

Fentanyl overdoses tragically caused tens of thousands of preventable deaths last year. Many politicians who want to end U.S. asylum law claim that immigrants crossing the border illegally are responsible. An NPR‐​Ipsos poll found that 39 percent of Americans and 60 percent of Republicans believe, “Most of the fentanyl entering the U.S. is smuggled in by unauthorized migrants crossing the border illegally.” A more accurate summary is that fentanyl is overwhelmingly smuggled by U.S. citizens, almost entirely for U.S. citizen consumers.

Fentanyl smuggling is ultimately funded by U.S. consumers who pay for illicit opioids: nearly 99 percent of whom are U.S. citizens.

In 2022, U.S. citizens were 89 percent of convicted fentanyl drug traffickers—12 times greater than convictions of illegal immigrants for the same offense.

In 2023, 93 percent of fentanyl seizures occurred at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes, so U.S. citizens (who are subject to less scrutiny) when crossing legally are the best smugglers."

https://www.cato.org/blog/us-citizens-were-89-convicted-fentanyl-traffickers-2022

(even conservative think tanks can not deny the facts)

[Jit423]

1. Americans are smugglers and CUSTOMERS. Without American quest for drugs, the cartels would not exist as they do now.

[summer_in_TX]

2. Also, there's a major tax loophole in the law as well as inspecting smaller packages of goods

coming into the country. Imports that are not done by a retailer but instead are bought directly by a customer not intending to resell them are not subject to cargo inspections unless the value is above a certain dollar value.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/13/nx-s1-5111427/shein-temu-white-house-biden-rule-china

Instead of bringing large shipments into U.S. warehouses in bulk, Shein and Temu ship small individual orders directly to American shoppers. That means those packages can legally skip import taxes because U.S. law exempts shipments under $800 from import tax.

snip…

…the loophole allows foreign importers to not only evade tariffs, but also ship narcotics and drug-processing equipment without stricter customs inspections.