Warning: This is not exactly welcome news. From a report by the Reuters news service:
Federal drug prosecutions fall to lowest level in decades as Trump shifts focus to deportations
It appears that the current focus on illegal immigration has resulted in a 10% drop in Federal drug prosecutions, year to date. In practice, that translates to about 1200 fewer cases prosecuted for drug crimes, in comparison to the same period in 2024.
I guess the theory is that by focusing law enforcement attention on closing the borders and deporting millions of migrants, the government will put an end to the flow of drugs coming into the U.S., and eventually, the drug epidemics that plague our nation.
I see two serious flaws in this approach.
First, it assumes that the vast majority of persons involved in the drug trade in the US are here illegally. I haven’t seen evidence to support that belief, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out not to be true.
In fact, my experience is that plenty of Americans are involved in the drug trade, and would continue their involvement in future, provided they think they can get away with it. Their incentive: money, of course.
Second, fewer traffickers prosecuted means fewer traffickers convicted and sentenced to prison. How does that help stem the flow of drugs into the country?
Meanwhile, drug traffic at the southern border hasn’t slowed. Contraband seizures may be up 6%, but the total number of persons charged with importing drugs into the United States is now at its lowest point in a quarter- century.
Likewise, the number charged with drug conspiracy has actually declined by 15%. That no doubt includes some high-profile investigations.
Those figures surely do not support the idea that the current approach is worth the effort, both in terms of the resources expended, or a positive impact on the nation’s long-standing drug problem.
Might even mean the opposite– that things are getting worse.
Let’s hope somebody in WashingtonD.C figures this out before too much more time has passed.
