TUCSON, ARIZ. (KGUN) — The Pima County Board of Supervisors showed their support today for the Congressional 'Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act' with a 3-1 vote in favor. District 4 Supervisor, Steve Christy, voted against showing support for the bill.
John Backer is a Tucson resident and an Air Force Veteran. He spoke at the meeting today, voicing his concerns to the Board of Supervisors about this border-related act, saying "this bill being named after fentanyl does nothing to stop fentanyl.”
Backer feels the amount of money going into this bill is unnecessary and is not being used to solely stop fentanyl.
"They wouldn’t need to spend that $950 million if they would take care of the folks trying to do their job as best they can now," Backer explains. The bill outlines that the Department of Homeland Security would leave nearly $3.5 billion to remain available until September 27, 2027 to "support and enhance law enforcement capabilities at land borders."
"Aside from the enforcement end, aside from technology... just trying to stop this much fentanyl from coming into our communities is incredibly critical," District 5 Supervisor Adelita Grijalva said. "I think they wanted the Board of Health to weigh in because we're the county that is having a lot of detrimental impact from fentanyl." Grijalva serves as Chair of the Board of Supervisors in Pima County and is a member of the Board of Health.
"I found it a little bit ironic that the party that is supposed to be more in favor of more enforcement voted how they did... our one colleague voted against that proposal." Grijalva said of Christy's vote. Christy is the sole republican member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
Backer says, "$300 million is going to additional civilian processing coordinators. That has nothing to do with stopping fentanyl."
In the Board of Supervisors Agenda Item Report, the conclusion to this bill states “This Resolution supports the comprehensive goals to reduce the impact of this public health crisis. It supports our efforts to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality, enhanced services for individuals and families with substance use disorder, and addresses the need to bolster enforcement agencies to prevent the flow of illicit substances.”
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Athena Kehoe is a multimedia journalist and producer at KGUN 9. Four years ago, Athena moved to Arizona and has not looked back at the Midwest since. She is a very avid basketball and football fan, so you might hear her getting into the games at local Tucson sports hangouts. She is eager to share stories among the Tucson community and you can reach her at athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter or LinkedIn.