North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley (R) has issued a stark warning about the flow of illegal immigration across the northern US border, arguing that the situation, which has intensified under the Biden administration, is likely to worsen, US Media reported.
Wrigley spoke on Wednesday at a field hearing hosted by the House Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The hearing “The Biden Border Crisis: North Dakota Perspectives” focused on how illegal crossings across the northern border are affecting North Dakota residents and communities. Only Republican legislators attended the meeting.
North Dakota is home to 18 land ports of entry along a 310-mile stretch of the 5,525-mile northern US border, and only three ports are open 24 hours a day. Wrigley stated:
“The situation has deteriorated significantly in recent years, and the current situation is untenable with millions of illegal entrants streaming across America’s southwest border. North Dakota is already experiencing negative law enforcement impacts due to the Biden Administration’s refusal to shut down the border, but my concern is that the worst is yet to come, both in terms of street crimes and national security.”
Wrigley reported that there were 4,444 migrant encounters in fiscal year (FY) 2023, a significant increase from 2,127 in FY 2022 and 548 in FY 2021. He also emphasised that preliminary data shows that the upward trend will continue in FY 2024.
Wrigley also noted the striking difference in drug prices at US borders, highlighting that fentanyl and synthetic opioids can be purchased for as little as 25 cents per pill on the southwest border, while North Dakota can fetch between $60 and $80 per pill, making it attractive to drug traffickers.
