COLUMBUS, Ohio —State Senator Theresa Gavarone, R-Huron, and Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, this week introduced Senate Resolution 243, which urges the United States Government to secure its borders.
“While the men and women of the United States Border Patrol and law enforcement agencies across the country have served honorably and diligently to secure the Southern border, they need increased support from Washington, D.C.,” Gavarone said in a press release. “I am urging Joe Biden and the Democrat majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to enhance their efforts to combat the human trafficking and drug smuggling crisis at our border.”
In 2021, US Customs and Border Protection agents seized more than 319,000lbs of marijuana, 109,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 97,000lbs of cocaine, 11,000lbs of fentanyl, and 5,400 pounds of heroin. These drugs, specifically the opiates, led to a 32% increase in fentanyl related deaths in Ohio, with over 80% of all overdose deaths involving fentanyl.
Ohio law enforcement officials have also identified over 1,300 cases of human trafficking in Ohio between 2014 and 2020.
