But it has nothing to do with the southern border.

It’s coming in through legal ports of entry. A great big wall would still have legal ports of entry they’d flow through.




ROSE: Fentanyl seizures have been climbing across the border, especially in California and Arizona. Close to 90% of that fentanyl is seized at ports of entry. Immigration authorities say it is smuggled mostly by U.S. citizens, as well as other travelers who are legally authorized to cross. Virtually none is seized from migrants who are seeking asylum.

TROY MILLER: Our analysis, our intelligence continues to point to most of it's being smuggled at the ports of entry.

ROSE: Troy Miller is the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. He says it is less risky for drug cartels to smuggle fentanyl through the ports.

MILLER: They're able to hide the narcotics in legitimate travel. They're able to surveil the travelers. They have preexisting logistics, routes to move the narcotics quicker.

ROSE: As the number of overdose deaths from fentanyl keeps climbing, smuggling has become a bigger issue in Washington, D.C. And the way fentanyl enters the country has become the subject of intense debate. Some of the leading voices in the Republican Party reject the official narrative that it is mostly coming through the ports. They believe there's a lot more fentanyl that's not being caught.