Lance Gooden says Biden must declare fentanyl a 'weapon of mass destruction'
Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, on the border crisis and Democrats' growing opposition to Title 42.
Rep. Lance Gooden said Friday on "America's Newsroom" that he has asked President Biden to declare fentanyl a "weapon of mass destruction" as the lethal drug continues to pour into the U.S., mostly from the southern border.
"The (American people) are worried about the crisis at the border and the crisis at the border has fueled this fentanyl epidemic that we are seeing across the nation," said Gooden, R-Texas.
Police said 20,000 fentanyl pills were found hidden inside a car driven by two illegal immigrants. (Sterling Heights Police Department via FOX2 Detroit WJBK)
TOM HOMAN BLASTS BIDEN'S ‘INHUMANE’ BORDER POLICIES: THEY ARE ‘KILLING PEOPLE’
Two illegal immigrants arrested in Michigan earlier this month after police found 20,000 Fentanyl pills inside their car told officers they were transporting the drugs for a Mexican cartel.
Officers said they discovered 20,000 fentanyl pills disguised as Oxycontin prescription pills hidden inside compartments in the car. Officers also found 500 grams of fentanyl in powder form.
Fentanyl is a major contributor to the opioid crisis in the U.S., with synthetic opioids accounting for nearly 73% of all opioid-involved deaths in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gooden said his constituents are worried about the spread of the lethal drug.
"I believe enough (fentanyl) crossed the Texas border in the last few months to kill 200 million people. That's pretty scary."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a joint statement with Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister, not pictured, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Biden thanked Lee Hsien Loong for supporting Ukraine during a meeting this morning and said the two leaders would discuss U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific region. ( Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The congressman urged Biden to act on the crisis.
"We can go after these cartels. We can make some meaningful impacts, but it just requires action from this president. And I would beg him to stop listening to whoever he's listening to and start listening to the American people," he told host Bill Hemmer.
Gooden believes a step in the right direction to save American lives is to "secure our borders."
Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.