Governor Little and ISP troopers share experiences while visiting southern border
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - On Thursday, Governor Brad Little and members of the Idaho State Police stopped in at the ISP Headquarters in Pocatello to discuss their recent experiences visiting the Southern U.S. border.
Last week, Little and 10 other governors across the country visited Texas to see the impact of drug trafficking and illegal immigration at the southern border.
He says what's happening at the border is having a dramatic impact across the state.
"Meth and fentanyl are the most serious and growing drug threats in Idaho," Little said. "There's a direct tie to the loose border with Mexico."
The statistics bear out that threat.
"Last year, 96% identified Mexico as a source country for drugs trafficked in the region," Little said.
Little and 25 other Governors released ten policy solutions that the Biden Administration could enact immediately to "protect America, restore security and end the crisis at the southern border."
Some of the proposals include finishing the construction of the southern border wall, ending catch and release, and resuming the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed a crime.
During Little's trip to Texas, he said his biggest takeaway was the omnipresence of the cartels.
He says their control of the drug trade even extended to Southeast Idaho.
"One of the maps that was up on the wall, I think there was somebody there showed an arrow going right to Pocatello, Idaho from down there," Little said.
It's a growing problem that continues to impact our state.
"Since 2018, Idaho State Police's Forensic Lab has seen more than a 200% increase in the amount of fentanyl entering into our labs," said ISP Sgt. Curt Sproat.
This past summer, Little sent Sproat and four other members of the Idaho State Police to Arizona for three weeks to assist with intelligence gathering and investigative work at the border.
"We saw a huge flood of fentanyl and counterfeit pills and meth flooding into the United States," Sproat said. "Smugglers who in the past brought huge bundles of marijuana into the U.S. have transitioned to bundles of meth.
They saw the tragic impact these addictive substances can have.
"We saw people who were addicted to the point they didn't even care what happened to them, or what crime they committed," Sproat said. "They just needed another hit of fentanyl or meth, and they were willing to do anything to get it."
ISP Trooper Jared Shively says his experience at the border helped increase his knowledge and interdiction skills.
He says drug trafficking at the border has a direct correlation with what happens here in Idaho.
"When there's large amounts coming across the border, we have large amounts here in Idaho," Shively said. "When there's smaller amounts going across the border, it affects how much comes into Idaho."
It's an ongoing issue Little says needs to be addressed right away.
"Something’s going to have to be done," Little said. "It’s not sustainable. You heard about the chaos and some of these border communities that exists there, but it's organized crime."
