U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) is raising awareness of the influx of illicit fentanyl into communities across Michiana and throughout our nation. In the Elkhart Truth, Congresswoman Walorski responded to a string of overdoses caused by fentanyl-laced drugs and outlined a plan of action to stop drug cartels and traffickers from preying on Hoosiers.
Elkhart Truth
Fentanyl crisis strikes close to home
Rep. Jackie Walorski
February 19, 2022
As Hoosiers have experienced firsthand, fentanyl-laced drugs pose a deadly threat. This escalating crisis is wreaking havoc in our local communities — burdening everyone from families and first responders to schools and our workforce — and costing lives.
The rise in fentanyl is rooted in chaos at the southern border. Drugs are made in China, smuggled through Mexico across the border, and then trafficked into our communities.
For most adults, 2 milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose. Last year alone, our border agents seized more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl — and that’s just what they intercepted. It’s no shock that fentanyl is now the top killer of young Americans.
Tragically, we are facing the ravages of this crisis close to home. As Elkhart Fire Capt. Grant Roberts has warned, fentanyl-laced marijuana has caused a string of dangerous overdoses. Even 1,400 miles away, every town in Michiana is a border town.
We took big steps to secure the southern border during the previous administration, but President Joe Biden has left Americans vulnerable with his open-borders policies. I recently sent a letter exhorting Biden to shore up the southern border and stop the wicked cartels that are preying on Americans with illicit fentanyl. I also support finishing the border wall and equipping our law enforcement agents with tools they need to protect Americans in the 21st century.
This conversation is bigger than politics — it’s about a real threat to Hoosiers. With lives on the line, I’ll keep fighting to secure the southern border, get tough on drug traffickers, and defend our communities.
Read her full letter at the Elkhart Truth.
Walorski represents the 2nd Congressional District of Indiana, serving as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee.
