OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday he’s joining 25 other states’ governors to form the American Governor’s Border Strike Force.
The group has two goals: stop transnational criminal organizations from bringing drugs into communities and assist with the humanitarian crisis at the southern border.
Ohio is joining Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming on the task force.
“Our states are partnering together to create the American Governors’ Border Strike Force to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations by increasing collaboration, improving intelligence, investing in analysis, combating human smuggling, and stopping drug flow in our states,” said DeWine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports drug overdoses rose to a record high in a 12-month period ending in November 2021. The CDC estimates 106,854 people died from drug overdoses, with deaths jumping 16% over the last year. A third of those overdose deaths occurred in Ohio and four other states: California, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas.
As for the border crisis, migrant arrivals hit the highest number recorded since 2000, according to recent government statistics. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials processed migrants 221,303 times along the Mexico-U.S. border in March. Border Patrol recorded nearly 210,000 encounters last month, which surpassed the previous high recorded in March 2000 with 220,063.
March’s numbers are a 33% increase from February, according to Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.
“Once again, the CBP operational statistics show a dramatic increase in encounters from the previous month,” Portman said in a statement. “I am alarmed the March CBP numbers were the highest March on record in more than two decades with 221,303 total encounters at the border. This includes more than 37,000 migrant family members; more than 169,000 single adult migrants; and more than 14,000 unaccompanied children, up from 12,000 encounters in February.”
The Border Strike Force listed possible solutions to the issues, including:
- Target cartel finances that fund criminal activity in the border regions to seize the tools used to assist the cartels
- Review state criminal statutes regarding human trafficking, drug trafficking, and transnational criminal organizations to ensure the laws deter, disrupt, and dismantle criminal activity
- Review state criminal justice statistics and information to determine crimes that can be traced to the southern border
“Together, governors will improve public safety, protect victims from horrific crimes, reduce the amount of drugs in our communities, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis at the Southern Border,” the task force wrote in a joint Memorandum of Understanding agreement.
