Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., believes he has a good sense of why President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and congressional Democrats haven't made much progress in curbing the record number of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, or halting the flow of lethal drugs — such as fentanyl — from pouring into the country.
"There's no secret here, if you look at what's happening on the southern border: [Biden's] policy of letting anybody cross the border and claim asylum, not only does it subsidize the drug cartels' [prospects] for human trafficking, it's also giving them operational control of the southern border," Donalds told Newsmax on Wednesday evening while appearing on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
Donalds then said the Democrats' inaction "allows [the cartels] to move massive amounts of fentanyl into our country, and it's killing our citizens."
As Newsmax chronicled last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies fentanyl as a "synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Pharmaceutical fentanyl was developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients, applied in a patch on the skin."
Also, the number of U.S. fentanyl overdose deaths increased from 57,834 in 2020 to 71,238 in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"I'm not trying to play political games here, but there's a difference between immigration policy and border security," said Donalds, who added that VP Harris' visit to the southern border consisted of three hours and included zero conversations with Border Patrol agents.
"If you spend time at the border to see what's happening, and if you talk to the border agents on the front lines ... this is why Joe Biden has never been to the border [as president]," said Donalds, who oversees Florida's 19th District and is up for reelection in November.
And "that's because [Democrats] don't want to solve the problem," Donalds said. "They're only talking about it now, because it's blowing up in their faces."
Donalds said he feels frustrated the border crisis will likely continue for a few more months.
However, he's also optimistic about substantive changes to border security coming next year — if Republicans overtake the House chamber in the midterm elections.
"House Republicans and Senate Republicans have been talking about this issue, ad nauseam, for 20 months. We want to secure the border. But it's the congressional Democrats who don't lift a finger," Donalds said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.