Unravel Organized Crime, Human Trafficking Rings, and Drug Trade Within Our Cities

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Every American child should be able to grow up without falling victim to violence, drugs, or other crimes that can destroy their future. Public officials are responsible for doing everything in their power to make this possible and keep our neighborhoods safe. Unfortunately, traffickers pose grave threats to the safety of communities and to the well‐ being of children, teenagers, and families. Criminal street gangs and drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are engaged in all types of criminal activity, including murder, assault, robbery, extortion, and most notably, trafficking of both humans and drugs. Through force, fraud, coercion, and sexual exploitation of minors, traffickers splinter families, destroy lives through drug addiction, and threaten the safety of our communities.

Sadly, the Biden Administration has failed to address these problems and take strong action that would protect American communities. To combat organized crime, our government must secure the southern border to shut down the pipeline of illicit narcotics moving into our country. Additionally, the government should enact sanctions and tariffs on suppliers of fentanyl and empower law enforcement with the resources they need to fight illicit drug trafficking. The previous administration enacted federal policies that provided more resources and authority to law enforcement, but our government is now taking a different, unsuccessful approach.

To break the pernicious cycle of illicit drugs pouring into our communities, gang violence, and crime, our Nation needs comprehensive solutions that focus on prevention, intervention, and suppression. In 2020, the Department of Justice carried out Operation LeGend — a sustained and coordinated law enforcement surge in communities across the Nation. Additionally, in 2018, a record amount of funding was granted for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program, which enhanced efforts to interdict drug trafficking organizations to stop the flow of illegal narcotics into American communities.

Prosecutors at all levels must be encouraged and empowered to aggressively prosecute gang members, drug traffickers, and human traffickers by enforcing zero tolerance policies at all levels. These include aggressively prosecuting drug dealers who intentionally sell opioids, including deadly fentanyl, intending to create addiction in their customers. Without aggressive enforcement, the destructive groups will continue to spread, allowing them to become more sophisticated and better organized.

Trafficking, gang activities, and other forms of organized crime are threats to any society dedicated to freedom, individual rights, and the rule of law. For the safety of all Americans, we must address them to protect our communities and maintain law and order.

THE FACTS

• Annual drug overdoses in the U.S. exceeded 100,000 in 2021 for the first time ever, making drug overdoses the leading cause of death for young Americans.
• CBP seized more than 5,000 kilograms of fentanyl in 2020; one kilogram of fentanyl is equivalent to 500,000 lethal doses.
• Enough fentanyl was caught crossing our border in 2021 to kill 2.54 billion people.
• Approximately 28,100 gangs are active across the U.S. with activity in all 50 states.
• More than 50% of schools with more than 1,000 students reported gang activities.
• Gang violence accounts for 13% of all homicides and nearly half of all violent crimes.
• Gangs are responsible for facilitating approximately 85% of all sex trafficking in some areas of the country.

THE AMERICA FIRST AGENDA

At the federal level, support policies that:

• Fully fund Department of Homeland Security efforts to secure the border, stop illegal immigration, and hold drug smugglers accountable.
• Increase funding and support for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area operations.
• Enact zero tolerance policies to address gang violence and drug trafficking operations.
• Fund community-based diversion and prevention programs to protect America’s youth from exposure to gangs or illicit narcotics.
• Enhance criminal penalties for convicted gang members and traffickers.

At the state level, support policies that:

• Enact zero tolerance policies to address gang violence and drug trafficking operations.
• Fund community-based diversion and prevention programs to protect America’s youth from exposure to gangs or illicit narcotics.
• Enhance criminal penalties for convicted gang members and traffickers.

REFERENCES

Center for Homeland Security and Immigration Overview, America First Policy Institute (May 2021). 

Drug Overdose Deaths in the U.S. Top 100,000 Annually, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Nov. 2021).

Drug Seizure Statistics, Customs and Border Patrol (Dec. 2021).

Gangs, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (Jan. 2020).

Gangs and Sex Trafficking in San Diego, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (Aug. 2016).

The Biden Administration Has Given up on Black America and Our Dreams by Alveda King, Jack Brewer, and Ken Blackwell, America First Policy Institute (Feb. 2022).