US Border: Most Fentanyl Smugglers are Citizens (Not Migrants)
Also: Fentanyl smuggling has peaked
(Note: this is the third in our series of in-depth reports on US border issues)
Are migrants responsible for the US Fentanyl Crisis? Not according to US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) statistics, a recent study reveals. The American Immigration Council (AIC) says Fentanyl Smugglers are overwhelmingly more likely to be U.S. citizens than illegal aliens, based on the numbers reported by the CBP.
Because most fentanyl seizures occur at ports of entry (see chart below), the AIC says the majority of fentanyl is smuggled by people who can enter the United States legally. These individuals hope to evade detection by posing as regular travelers entering or re-entering the United States. As a result, the cartels tend to recruit U.S. citizens as fentanyl smugglers because they receive the least scrutiny from CBP officers when crossing the border.
According to the AIC study, 78 percent of all fentanyl seizures at those ports of entry along the southwest border from fiscal years 2019 through June 2024 involved U.S. citizen smugglers.
The AIC found that the most common method of attempting to smuggle fentanyl from Mexico into the US is by passenger vehicle. A smaller number of smugglers attempt to bring the drug into the country by walking it across the border or via a commercial vehicle.
The AIC reports that US fentanyl seizures peaked in spring 2023 and have been declining since. CBP fentanyl seizures hit record levels in April 2023 at 3,220 pounds. Seizures fell nearly every month after that, and by March 2025 had dropped to just 760 pounds.
Meanwhile, peak or not, US authorities continue to seize large amounts of fentanyl. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently reported it has seized 44 million fentanyl pills so far this year, while the CBP reports seizing more than 9,000 pounds of the drug since October of 2025.
In Texas, the state’s Department of Public Safety has seized hundreds of millions of lethal doses of fentanyl during its ongoing “Operation Lone Star” border security mission:
And, in Atlanta, US Federal Prosecutors last month convicted a previously-convicted felon for running a sophisticated fentanyl-distribution and manufacturing operation that used two large pill press machines capable of pressing up to 25,000 fentanyl pills per hour, as well as hydraulic presses to form fentanyl powder into kilogram-sized bricks of the drug.
In addition to the fentanyl kingpin’s arrest, federal agents also seized hundreds of thousands of pressed pills as well as 56 kilograms of fentanyl, 84 kilograms of methamphetamine, nearly 10 kilograms of heroin, approximately four kilograms of cocaine, more than $145,000 in cash, and a book titled “How to Avoid Federal Drug Conspiracy & Firearms Charges.”
Are you surprised to learn that the vast majority of smugglers bringing fentanyl into the country from Mexico are US citizens?
Share your opinion in the comments to this article.
(Also, do you want more in-depth reports like this one? I want to hear from you!)
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Jack, I was surprised to the cartels are using USA citizens to traffic drugs across the border. One of the big arrests was a convicted felon US citizen. The worst thing about it is that those fentanyl drugs cause so many deaths. I'm so proud of the CBP who apprehend these people. Thank you, Jack for your timely information.
Mules instead of smugglers would make for a more meaningful title.