Silver State Times

In July, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, insisted the border is "secure" during an interview with NBC at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado.

However, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released their operational statistics for July, and the number of arrests at the southern border in fiscal year 2022 is nearing 2 million, a record high.

"How insulting is it that DHS Secretary Mayorkas says the border is ‘secure,’ the Republican State Leadership Committee wrote in a July 25 tweet. “Border patrol agents need help. Our fentanyl crisis is worsening. CBP numbers keep rising. Families' lives are in danger and this admin (administration) keeps turning a blind eye."

The number of border-related fentanyl seizures during the same period is also at an all-time high. In Nevada, the number of overdose deaths in 2021 rose by 20% from 2020, according to NBC News 3.

In fiscal year 2022, which runs from Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022, U.S. Border Patrol agents have reportedly made approximately 1,822,160 arrests at the southern border, according to recent data released by CBP.

In July alone, there were 199,976 encounters along the southwest land border.

Chris Magnus, CBP commissioner, stressed the importance of a decrease in encounters in July.

"While the encounter numbers remain high, this is a positive trend and the first two-month drop since October 2021,” he said in an Aug. 15 press release.

According to CBP national total encounter data for FY 2022 through July, fentanyl seizures have increased 203% from 2021.

In fiscal year 2021, CBP reports 1.66 million apprehensions. With roughly two months left in FY 2022, analysts predict arrests will surpass 2 million for the first time, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to an analysis by Families Against Fentanyl, fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans 18 to 45, followed by suicide, COVID-19 and car accidents. Fentanyl is tied to 64% of drug overdose deaths and is commonly laced in cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, Xanax, oxycontin, and marijuana sold on the streets.

According to preliminary data from the Southern Nevada Health District, Nevada saw a 28.6% increase in fatal overdoses from 2019 to 2020. Overdose deaths from people under the age of 25 doubled over that time.

NBC News 3 reports that in Nevada, overdose deaths rose by more than 20% last year. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state saw at least 1,036 overdose deaths between October 2020 and October 2021. About two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, which are on the rise in Southern Nevada.