Matt Dolan: 'Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction.' Brown, Mayorkas should be fired.

Matt Dolan is a state senator from Chagrin Falls and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

Three years ago, I voted to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorists. I took this action because it was clear that the China-sourced fentanyl they were pushing across our southern border was a weapon of mass destruction. The border crisis has only gotten worse.

That’s why I recently traveled with Ohio law enforcement to one of the busiest areas of our southern border for illegal alien apprehension, human smuggling and narcotic seizures. We saw first-hand how the border is open and Ohio is suffering because of it.

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Over the span of two days, we saw cartel spotters outnumber Border Patrol Agents. We witnessed illegal immigrants brazenly attempt to scale a border wall in broad daylight. We joined Arizona law enforcement in the pursuit and successful apprehension of foreign nationals, and human smugglers and drug mules on U.S. soil.

We didn’t visit Tucson Sector to prove what we already knew, rather we learned from those facing this crisis every day and discussed what they need to stop the ongoing invasion of illegals and drugs.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that halted construction of the border wall and turned off technology meant to stop illegal border crossings. It was a tragedy to see miles of 3-story, concrete reinforced fencing sitting idle along a border road. It’s no wonder the border control agents are down 50%.

Despite the current challenges, there is a clear path to a secure border. It just takes will and leadership.

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It may seem obvious, but first we need public leaders willing to acknowledge reality.

In a December TV interview, Sen. Sherrod Brown said, “I don’t hear a lot about immigration from voters except from people on the far-right.”

And last month, before Congress, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas repeatedly refused to call this a crisis. Brown and Mayorkas should be fired.

The wall should be finished where appropriate. The technology in place should be turned back on, border patrol officers need to be given the authority to act as law enforcement officers, not mere escorts. What does that mean? Stop, arrest and jail someone who is breaking our laws by crossing our border illegally who are often carrying drugs or inducing human trafficking.

The remain in Mexico policy should immediately be reinstated so true asylum seekers can be identified at requisite ports of entry. We need to keep Title 42 in place and end the catch and release policy once and for all.

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As for operational solutions, we need to get tough with the Mexican government. We need to use the full leverage of our trade and economy to force Mexico’s hand in facilitating coordination to combat the cartels. This includes having the U.S. Government finally designating the Mexican cartels as international terrorist organizations, justifying coordination in the possible use of military force.

We need to recognize that China is an accomplice in the flooding of fentanyl into our country.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, approximately 76 percent of overdose deaths in Ohio are caused by fentanyl that is coming from China to Mexico and over the border into the United States. It killed over 70,000 U.S. citizens last year. Would we let China ship bombs to Mexico destined for American streets? Of course not. Yet with our open border, bombs disguised as pills are flooding into our country.

Fentanyl is a weapon of mass destruction.

While on the Arizona border, I witnessed the bravery of local law enforcement. I also felt the frustration of federal Border Patrol agents who know they can secure the border with the right support. Unlike Sherrod Brown I know we have a problem. As I have done as a prosecutor, assistant state attorney general and legislator, I am determined to fix the problem.

Matt Dolan is a state senator from Chagrin Falls and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sherrod Brown, Alejandro Mayorkas should be for drug crossing border| Matt Dolan