Senator Hassan to Travel to U.S.-Mexico Border, Meet with DEA and CBP Agents and Assess Drug Interdiction Efforts

WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan will travel this week to the U.S.-Mexico border, where she will evaluate firsthand the efforts underway to combat the trafficking of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, that make their way to New Hampshire and communities across the United States. Senator Hassan is a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has oversight on a number of border functions.

Senator Hassan will receive briefings from Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on the ground and discuss how Congress can better support their efforts to detect, intercept, and halt the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Senator Hassan will also meet with Mexican officials to build upon existing partnerships with Mexico focused on combating the opioid epidemic and strengthening national security.

“The trafficking of illicit drugs like fentanyl across the southern border from Mexico is exacerbating the devastating opioid crisis that is taking lives every day and significantly impacting our communities and our economy,” Senator Hassan said. “I look forward to traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border to evaluate firsthand the efforts underway to combat drug trafficking and to discuss how Congress can better support those efforts. I also look forward to meeting with Mexican officials to discuss how we can strengthen partnerships to stop the flow of drugs across the border and strengthen our national security to keep all hard-working Granite Staters and Americans safe.”

As part of her efforts to strengthen support for law enforcement on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, Senator Hassan cosponsored the bipartisan International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act to help ensure that CBP has the tools necessary to detect and intercept fentanyl and other illegal synthetic opioids, which the President signed into law. Senator Hassan also helped introduce the bipartisan Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through the postal service to drug traffickers in the United States.

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