Fentanyl deaths in Texas: How much is illegal immigration border crisis really to blame?

In Reality Check stories, Star-Telegram journalists dig deeper into questions over facts, consequences and accountability. Read more. Story idea? RealityCheck@star-telegram.com.

Tuesday night’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee featured an emotional speech by Anne Funder, whose 15-year-old son Weston died from fentanyl poisoning in 2022.

She and other speakers blamed the Biden administration for failing to secure the Southern border and allowing a flood of the deadly drug into the U.S.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who also gave a speech at the RNC on Tuesday night talked about violent crimes committed by people who have illegally crossed the border during the Biden presidency, saying “Every day Americans are dying.”

How bad is the fentanyl crisis in Texas, one of the main pipelines into the country? In North Texas, elected leaders who talk about how illegal immigration has affected their communities frequently point to fentanyl deaths.

What is fentanyl and why is it so deadly?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but about 50 to 100 times more potent.

Prescription fentanyl is different from synthetic fentanyl. In its prescription form, fentanyl is a medicine that is typically used to treat severe pain. Synthetic fentanyl can be added to other drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. It can also be sold illegally as a powder, dropped onto blotter paper, put in eye droppers and nasal sprays, or made into pills that look like other prescription opioids, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

How dangerous is fentanyl?

As little as two milligrams of fentanyl — an amount so small it could fit on the tip of a pencil — is a potentially deadly dose if it enters the body. In 2022, the DEA Laboratory reportedly found that of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed, six out of 10 contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.

How many people die from fentanyl in North Texas?

The number of Texans killed by fentanyl poisoning or overdoses has skyrocketed, devastating hundreds of families.

The Star-Telegram reported in August 2023 that a staggering surge in fentanyl-related overdoses across the Metroplex. In 2019, only 15 people died from fentanyl intoxication in Tarrant County and neighboring Denton, Parker and Johnson counties. That number increased nearly 1,400% by 2022, when fentanyl was cited in 224 deaths, according to a Star-Telegram analysis of medical examiner records.

In all, at least 672 people as young as 14 have accidentally died from fentanyl since 2019 in those four North Texas counties.

Last year, data on a dashboard that tracks Texas fentanyl deaths showed more than 2,100 people statewide had died of accidental poisoning in 2022.

What Texas politicians say about the border and fentanyl

Star-Telegram accountability reporter Cody Copeland reported in March that Southlake Mayor John Huffman, who visited the border with Keller Mayor Armin Mizani in November, says undocumented immigrants are bringing fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the country between ports of entry.

“That’s demonstrably true,” Huffman said in a phone interview with the Star-Telegram. “You can ask anybody in border patrol.”

Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn has also told the Star-Telegram that the “plethora of drugs” in the county is one way that the immigration crisis is affecting local communities. Waybourn made his statement after hosting a press conference for U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, who cited anecdotal evidence about undocumented immigrants and crime to promote a bill he had introduced.

What border officials say about fentanyl smuggled into the U.S.

U.S. citizens actually top the list of fentanyl smugglers caught at the border, according to Homeland Security officials, who spoke to U.S. representatives in a subcommittee hearing last July on who is bringing fentanyl across the border.

Nearly three-fourths of those caught attempting to smuggle fentanyl into the U.S. since October 2022 were U.S. citizens, and they brought in more than half of all fentanyl seized by U.S. authorities, the officials said.

Mexican nationals made up for the rest of those caught smuggling fentanyl, but these were not migrants. The Homeland Security official said migrants accounted for “a very small percentage” of those caught attempting to smuggle fentanyl across the border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data belies the claim that migrants are drug smugglers. The Border Patrol is the law enforcement arm that secures the border between ports of entry, also known as international bridges.

“More than 90 percent of fentanyl seized by CBP is trafficked in cars and trucks through ports of entry,” CBP spokesperson Roger Maier told the Star-Telegram in March. He referred to the CBP’s drug seizure statistics online, which can be broken down into seizures by the Office of Field Operations at ports of entry and seizures by the Border Patrol along the border in between them.

In fiscal 2023, CBP agents confiscated 175,000 pounds of drugs at ports of entry, while Border Patrol agents confiscated 65,000. Fentanyl accounted for nearly 24,000 pounds of the drugs seized at ports of entry, and less than 3,000 in between them.

“It’s very pathetic that some politicians are using migrants as political fodder in blaming them for the fentanyl crisis, which is an absolute falsehood,” said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

While there have been a few cases of people walking across the border with fentanyl-laden backpacks, Vigil said, that method is not sufficient to meet the demand for the drug north of the border.

“They have to move fentanyl in mass in large quantities to satisfy that demand here in the United States,” Vigil said, seconding what Homeland Security told Congress: “Most of them that are driving the fentanyl over into the United States are American citizens.”

What is Texas’ new law to fight fentanyl?

In June 2023, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a drug-induced homicide law, which went into effect Sept. 1. These laws already existed in at least 25 states.

The Texas drug-induced homicide law law says someone who knowingly gives fentanyl to a person who overdosed could be charged with murder.

In 2023, Abbott also signed Senate Bill 645, which creates harsher penalties for fentanyl distribution and possession. The penalty for possessing or selling more than 4 grams of fentanyl is a first-degree felony that carries a sentence of 10 years to life. Previously, a conviction for 4 grams of fentanyl carried a maximum sentence of 20 years.

And possession of less than 1 gram will now be a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Texas law enforcement and district attorneys say they intend to use the new law to send a strong message to dealers. But some experts have questioned whether the new law will do more harm than good.

The new Texas laws also classify deaths caused by fentanyl as “fentanyl toxicity” or “fentanyl poisoning” on death certificates when appropriate.

If you or someone you know has a substance use disorder, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s national helpline; a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders, at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Also available 24/7 for Texans, the Texas Addiction Hotline is free and anonymous for any resident to receive assistance with addiction at 866-210-1303.