Arizona’s Border Security Is National Security

W hen I speak on the House floor or in the media about border security, my message is strong and consistent: Arizona’s border security is national security. It is not a talking point or a partisan slogan. It is a reality that the American people, especially those of us who live in border states like Arizona, understand all too well.

That’s why I recently went with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office to take a look at the border myself.

While my Democratic colleagues visit ICE facilities and defend soon-to-be-deported drug dealers, I went into the field and witnessed the apprehension of those drug dealers after they crossed into our beautiful desert to bring in the drugs that kill our children. I went to see firsthand what our law enforcement officers are dealing with every single day and to ensure that we in Congress are doing everything possible to give them the tools, resources, and support they need to secure our border.

What I saw was both encouraging and deeply troubling.

Let me start with the encouraging parts. Border Patrol agents, working alongside local partners like the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, are doing an exceptional job under incredibly difficult circumstances. These men and women are on the front lines of a crisis that Washington helped create, and yet they continue to show up, do their jobs, and protect our communities. Their professionalism and dedication deserve not just our gratitude but our full support.

But support means more than words. It means sound policy. It means sufficient resources. And it means understanding the evolving nature of the threat.

Because what I also saw is a crisis that has not gone away. It has simply changed.

For years, much of the public focus was on illegal crossings and the humanitarian challenges at the border. Those problems were grave and real. But today, the cartels have adapted. They are more sophisticated, more dangerous, and more focused on one thing above all else: pushing deadly drugs into American communities.

Nowhere is this more evident than on the lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation. The Tohono O’odham Nation has become a primary corridor for cartel activity, and the consequences have been devastating. According to law enforcement officials on the ground, as much as 80 percent of the fentanyl entering the United States is now coming through this region. Let that sink in. Eighty percent.

Fentanyl is killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. It is poisoning our communities, destroying families, and putting an enormous strain on our health-care and law enforcement systems. And the cartels know exactly what they are doing. They have shifted away from smuggling people, particularly children, in favor of trafficking a product that is cheaper, easier to move, and far more lethal.

And who is paying the price? Families across America, but the residents of the Tohono O’odham Nation in particular. They are being victimized by cartel operations that exploit the nation’s vast and often remote terrain. These are American citizens who deserve the same level of safety and security as anyone else in this country, yet they are living on the front lines of a transnational criminal enterprise. That is unacceptable.

This is why oversight matters. This is why showing up matters.

As Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple told me during our visit, it is critical for lawmakers to get out of Washington and see the situation on the ground. One cannot fully understand this crisis by reading a briefing memo or watching a cable news segment. Elected officials must see it with their own eyes. We need to talk to the people doing the work. And we must listen to what they are telling us about what is working and what still needs to be done.

We need to ensure that Border Patrol and our local law enforcement partners have the manpower, technology, and infrastructure necessary to stay ahead of the cartels. We need to strengthen cooperation with tribal authorities and provide the Tohono O’odham Nation with the resources it needs to protect its land and its people. And we need to send a clear message that the United States is serious about securing its border and dismantling the criminal networks that are exploiting it.

The American people are not asking for miracles. They are asking for competence. They are asking for accountability. And they are asking for a federal government that takes their safety seriously.

Arizona’s border security is national security. That is not just a line I use in speeches. It is a principle that must guide our actions, because what is happening on our southern border does not stay at the border. It reaches into every city, every town, and every community in this country.