Feenstra Introduces Legislation to Confiscate Assets from Drug Traffickers to Build the Border Wall and Fight the Fentanyl Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) introduced the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act. This legislation would equally dedicate assets confiscated from drug traffickers or other transnational criminal organizations by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to two separate funds to build the border wall and fight the fentanyl crisis impacting rural communities. The two funds – which would be housed at the U.S. Department of the Treasury – are the “Southern Border Wall Fulfillment Fund” and the “Combating The Fentanyl Epidemic Fund.”

Any assets seized from the drug cartels include the proceeds from said assets upon their sale at auction.

“Criminal drug traffickers have smuggled enough fentanyl into our country to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, and tragically, too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to this deadly crisis,” said Rep. Feenstra. “As a father of four, I’m proud to introduce the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act, which will fund two separate priorities – building the border wall and supporting fentanyl treatment and recovery services – with assets confiscated from the drug cartels by our brave border patrol agents. While President Biden has failed to uphold his oath of office and secure our border, I remain committed to delivering real solutions to the border crisis by beating the drug traffickers at their own game and using their illegal financial gains to finish the border wall and support our families.”

“The open southern border has brought a flood of drugs and crime that has taken too many American lives,” said Rep. Carol Miller. “I am honored to cosponsor Congressman Feenstra’s Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act which will ensure federal resources are allocated to build the border wall and halt the fentanyl crisis in the United States. It is long past time to secure the southern border.”

“The fentanyl epidemic is killing Americans every day, and it’s directly linked to our open border. Since the Biden administration has failed at properly addressing these two crises, Congress must use innovative solutions to help secure our country. The Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act provides a path to dedicate seized assets from traffickers towards making our nation safer,” said Rep. Greg Steube.

“The Biden Administration has destabilized our border at every opportunity, opening our borders to millions of illegal immigrants – including dozens of people on the terrorist watchlist – and allowing Chinese fentanyl to flow in through our southern border, poisoning communities across America,” said Rep. Beth Van Duyne. “I’m proud to join Congressman Feenstra to help introduce the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act, which offers new funding tools to keep our communities safe.”

“As an Emergency Room doctor, I saw the tragic consequences of illegal drugs and synthetic opioids flowing across our broken southern border every day. Each year, nearly twice as many Americans die from illegal drug overdoses as in the entirety of the Vietnam War—a majority from fentanyl smuggled through Mexico,” said Rep. Rich McCormick. “To secure our nation and to save countless lives, we must finally build a wall on our southern border, enforce our laws, and crush the cartels who prey upon human misery.”  

“We know walls work, and fentanyl is killing a record number of Americans,” said Rep. Brian Babin, House Border Security Caucus Co-Chair. “Re-purposing the confiscated assets of drug traffickers and criminal organizations to secure our border and save lives is a common sense solution to an extremely serious problem. I’m proud to support Rep. Feenstra’s bill and look forward to our continued partnership to finish the wall and protect Americans.”

“Last year, we lost more than 109,000 Americans to fentanyl overdoses, making it the leading cause of death for those aged 18-49,” said Rep. Barry Moore. “Much of the fentanyl fueling these tragedies is pouring across our open southern border. I am proud to support Rep. Feenstra on this legislation that beats criminals at their own game by using confiscated assets to continue building the border wall and fight the fentanyl crisis.”

For over two years, the Biden administration’s open-door policies have created an unprecedented crisis at our southern border; fentanyl is flooding into our communities and claiming the lives of young people at record rates, and this administration has ceded control of our border to dangerous cartels,” said Rep. Jim Baird. “I will not stand idly by as these lethal substances wreak havoc on this country, which is why I am working with Rep. Feenstra to reallocate funds to ensure we have the resources we need to address the fentanyl crisis and secure our southern border.”

“Since President Biden took office, over 2.1 million illegal immigrants have been released into our country and over 45,000 pounds of fentanyl have been seized at our southern border,” said Rep. Daniel Webster. “Porous borders threaten our national security and plague our communities with deadly opioids. This commonsense legislation leverages confiscated resources to secure our southern border and provide the resources needed to help keep deadly substances off the streets and out of our communities.”

“We must address the invasion of fentanyl into our communities at the source,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn. “It is necessary that we redistribute these funds to support the fortification of our southern borders and better equip local law enforcement, rehabilitation facilities, and drug-use prevention advocacy organizations to advance our fight against fentanyl.”

“Due to the failures of the Biden administration’s Open Border Policy, fentanyl is flooding across our Southern Border. This bill supports local and state law enforcement agencies, and drug prevention facilities to combat this crisis, and will improve our security at the border, all by using seized cartel funds,” said Rep. Joe Wilson.

More specifically, organizations eligible to receive funds to fight the fentanyl crisis include state and local law enforcement agencies, state and local health and human services agencies, rehabilitation facilities, and drug-use prevention advocacy groups.

You can find the legislative text HERE.

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