WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border to discuss strategies to stop the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl. His trip comes as domestic and international politics are throwing a spotlight on the problem of fentanyl smuggling.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border

  • His trip comes as domestic and international politics are throwing a spotlight on the problem of fentanyl smuggling

  • Brown took the trip over Veterans Day weekend with Republican Sheriff Mark Washylyshyn of Wood County

  • At a meeting with Biden on Friday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged to work side-by-side with the United States to confront illicit fentanyl trafficking

Since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, Republicans in Congress have traveled to the southern border to highlight conditions there and blame Biden and Democrats for not doing enough about it.

Brown, a Democrat, took the trip over Veterans Day weekend with Republican Sheriff Mark Washylyshyn of Wood County. The two joined Customs and Border Protection agents along the border and on a gunboat patrol mission on the Rio Grande River.

The trip was an opportunity for Brown to rebut criticism that he hasn’t paid enough attention to the border and to tout his sponsorship of the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which passed in the Senate this summer. The measure would impose new sanctions for fentanyl and penalties for drug-related money laundering.

As Brown faces a tough reelection bid next year, he has increasingly criticized Biden’s border policies.

“Presidents in both parties have failed to protect the border,” Brown said. “Congress needs to do a better job of getting resources to the border: social workers, police, customs and border patrol, equipment to make sure that we keep the border safe and we help those people that are here legitimately.”

The Biden administration said they were actively taking measures to protect the border, even as Congress has failed to pass a $106 billion funding request from Biden that includes allocations for border security.

“This is one of the reasons that President Biden has sent a supplemental request to Congress to ensure that we have drug detection machines, that we have Customs/Border Protection agents to be able to enhance our ability to secure the border,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Working with China and Mexico is essential to limiting fentanyl supply, officials said. China is the leading supplier of the chemicals used to make the drug, and Mexico is where much of the final product is made before being smuggled into the U.S.

In the last week, Biden met with leaders of both Mexico and China to discuss border security issues such as drug smuggling and immigration.

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to crack down on companies that produce precursor chemicals for fentanyl.

Brown responded to the action: “I was encouraged, but that doesn’t mean we don’t continue pushing these sanctions, following the money.”

At a meeting with Biden on Friday, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged to work side-by-side with the United States to confront illicit fentanyl trafficking.

The talks come as opioids continue to devastate the country. The CDC reports 106,842 drug overdose deaths in the past 12 months.

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