FACT CHECK: Is Fentanyl at Historic Lows?

Katie Pavlich | March 08, 2023 11:00 AM

Speaking to reporters at the White House Tuesday, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed fentanyl is at "historic lows."

"Cartels kill Americans on this side of the border with drugs, and now they're killing Americans on the other side of the border with guns. Why is President Biden so comfortable with cartels operating so close to the U.S.?" Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked.

CLAIM: "Because of the work that this President has done, because of what we've done specifically on fentanyl at the border, it's at historic lows -- historic levels that we have been able to record a number of personnel working to secure the border because of what we've been able to do, seizing that fentanyl. We've done it in a historic way. That's because of what this President has done," Jean-Pierre responded.

FOX NEWS' PETER DOOCY:

"Why is President Biden so comfortable with cartels operating so close to the U.S.?" pic.twitter.com/V8IqmCw5Rt
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 7, 2023

THE FACTS: Last year a record 110,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdose. It is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. The number of fentanyl pills flooding the United States remains at record highs.

According to Drug Enforcement Agency Anne Milgram recently said Mexican cartels are "killing Americans with fentanyl at catastrophic and record rates like we’ve never seen before."

"The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Division seized over 5.8 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl in 2022. The division, which covers the states of Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, seized nearly two million fentanyl pills and more than 150 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022," the DEA reported in January. "Last month, DEA announced nationwide seizure totals of over 50.6 million fentanyl pills and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. The DEA Laboratory estimates that these seizures represent more than 379 million potentially deadly doses of fentanyl, which equates to enough fentanyl to kill every American."