Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the opioid crisis in the United States, particularly along the border here in Arizona, and the efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to target, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle the criminal networks responsible for the manufacturing, smuggling, and distribution of dangerous opioids.
As the largest investigative agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) enforces more than 400 federal criminal statutes to include the Immigration and Nationality Act under (Title 8), U.S. customs laws under (Title 19), general federal crimes under (Title 18), and the Controlled Substances Act under (Title 21). HSI Special Agents use this authority to investigate all types of cross-border criminal activity and work in close coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and our state, local, tribal and international partners in a unified effort, to target the Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) that are supplying illicit substances, to include opioids, to the United States.
Today, I would like to highlight our efforts to reduce the supply of illicit opioids, such as heroin, fentanyl, and fentanyl analogues from coming into the United States along the Southwest border in Arizona and the operational challenges we encounter.
Build that damn wall!!
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