Open Borders = “I Support Sex Trafficking & Drug Cartels”

Open borders policies, while often advocated for humanitarian reasons, inadvertently bolster the operations of criminal cartels by creating porous frontiers that facilitate unchecked illicit activities.

Proponents of stricter border controls argue that low enforcement equates to tacit support for these syndicates, as it enables the rampant smuggling of drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, which have fueled overdose epidemics claiming hundreds of thousands of lives annually in the U.S. alone.

Similarly, human traffickers exploit these vulnerabilities to transport victims for sex trafficking and forced labor, with reports from organizations like the United Nations estimating millions ensnared globally, many funneled through unsecured borders into exploitative networks. Even graver are instances of slave trafficking and organ harvesting tied to cartel enterprises, where weak border security allows perpetrators to evade detection, perpetuating cycles of violence, corruption, and human suffering—ultimately undermining national sovereignty and public safety in the name of unrestricted migration.

Americas Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis

America’s opioid and fentanyl crisis has devastated communities nationwide, evolving from prescription painkiller overuse in the late 1990s into a devastating wave dominated by illicitly manufactured fentanyl—a synthetic opioid up to 100 times more potent than morphine—primarily smuggled across the southern border by Mexican cartels.

This third phase of the epidemic has driven staggering death tolls, with synthetic opioids like fentanyl involved in the majority of opioid overdoses; at its peak around 2022-2023, fentanyl-related deaths exceeded 70,000 annually, contributing to over 100,000 total drug overdose fatalities in some years and claiming hundreds of thousands of lives since the crisis intensified. While recent data from the CDC shows promising declines—drug overdose deaths dropping sharply by about 26% from 2023 to 2024 (to around 79,000) and further provisional estimates indicating continued reductions through 2025, with predictions around 73,000 for periods ending in mid-2025—this progress stems from intensified border enforcement, cartel disruptions, and public health measures like naloxone distribution, though the crisis remains a profound public health emergency eroding life expectancy and straining families across urban, rural, and suburban areas alike.