Biden’s Border Crisis: Examining the Impacts of International Cartels Targeting Indian Country

U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, Sub-committee on Oversight and Investigations

By Jessica M. Vaughan on April 10, 2024

The mass migration crisis instigated by the Biden administration’s irresponsible immigration policies has caused incalculable harm to American communities, including those in Indian Country, even those far from the border. The mass catch and release policies have led to the release of more than three million illegal migrants, damaged the integrity of our immigration system, and exposed Americans to new national security and public safety threats – especially threats related to the trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs. Further, the huge influx of migrants taking advantage of the opportunity to be released into the United States has so overwhelmed the Border Patrol and its local partners that it can no longer control vast stretches of the border, enabling the illegal crossers who want to avoid apprehension to violate the border with impunity. These policies have facilitated the entry of illegal drugs and also the cartel operatives who distribute them. The result has been a huge spike in deaths, overdoses, and poisonings from dangerous drugs distributed by the cartels and their accomplices. In addition, the Biden policies have enriched certain transnational criminal organizations, including Mexican and Chinese cartels and Central and South American gangs, to the point where these organizations represent a threat to civil society and the rule of law throughout the Western Hemisphere.