GOP House Doctors Caucus pressures Mayorkas on fentanyl as opioid epidemic surges

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FIRST ON FOX: A group of doctors in the House is pressuring Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to do more to combat the surge of fentanyl flowing into the U.S. fueling the opioid epidemic.

Fox News obtained the letter that Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., is leading with a group of his fellow GOP Doctors Caucus members to Mayorkas amid the compounding southern border crisis exacerbating the illicit fentanyl stream into America.

"For the first time in our nation’s history, more than 100,000 Americans have died from drug overdoses in a 12 month period," Murphy told Fox News in an email. "That is a devastating statistic that has had a deeply personal and tragic impact on families across the nation."

OSSOFF, GRASSLEY BILL TO FIGHT RURAL OPIOID CRISIS PASSES SENATE

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., speaks during a television news interview before voting on the rule for the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act on Friday, May 15, 2020. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

"This crisis is a result of the Biden Administration’s ineptitude to secure our porous Southern Border and support law enforcement drug interdiction efforts," the congressman also said. "We must stand up to the evil narco-traffickers who are poisoning our communities, and I implore the Biden Administration to put an end to this tragic epidemic."

Murphy also warned that "the disastrous fentanyl drug crisis which began at our border, has now turned every city and town in America into a border community," adding that the "public health threat" of the drug crisis cannot be "understated."

In the letter, the doctors expressed their "grave concern" of the growing epidemic, citing the southern border in crisis as one of the main culprits of America’s addiction to the opioid.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a news conference at The National Press Club in Washington, on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

"It is our duty and obligation to get this crisis under control as matters of national security and public health," the doctors wrote.

"Thus far, the Administration has offered stale talking points and rehearsed political gestures but has yet to administer a clear and targeted directive to handle the Biden Border Crisis," they continued.

The doctors wrote it’s "no secret" that U.S. adversaries are "taking advantage of President Biden’s open border policies," with China and Mexican cartels being behind the production of the deadly fentanyl.

They also pointed out that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) put out the agency’s "first public safety alert in six years warning the public about fentanyl-laced pills that are hitting the street in record numbers."

The approximately 30,000 pills were wrapped in three bundles and weighed 8.2 pounds, authorities said. (Arizona Department of Public Safety)

"In October 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized roughly 1,000 pounds of fentanyl — enough to kill 236,775,024 Americans. Fentanyl seizures are up 53 percent from FY 2020," the doctors wrote, adding that while the seizure of the drugs is "a great testament" to CBP’s work, there is no real way to know how much drugs like fentanyl and others get across the border.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden’s border czar, also came into the doctors’ sights for having "been derelict in her duty to address the crisis."

"The American people are equally dismayed, as evident by the Vice President’s approval number on the issue of the border and immigration, which stands at an abysmal 23 percent," they wrote.

The doctors concluded the letter questioning Mayorkas on how the Biden administration is planning to address the crisis and what the administration’s plan is to inform the public about the fentanyl-laced drugs in communities.

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Several of Murphy’s fellow GOP House physicians joined him on the letter, including Reps. Michael Burgess and Ronny Jackson of Texas, and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio.

Fentanyl and other opioids have been flowing into America in record numbers, with many communities reeling from overdose deaths.

Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., led a bipartisan bill to address the crisis in rural areas, which passed the Senate on Thursday.