Analyzing Republican Attacks on Biden for Increase in Fentanyl Seized

U.S. border officials reported seizing 10,856 pounds of fentanyl being smuggled across the southwest border in fiscal year 2021, a 132% increase from fiscal year 2020. Some Republicans have misleadingly suggested that the amount of drugs seized is a negative development attributable to the immigration policies of President Joe Biden.

But the steep rise started in mid-2020 under then-President Donald Trump.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference, was one of the Republicans citing fentanyl seizures in October as a sign of “Biden’s Border Crisis,” even though more...