Pro-Open Borders Advocate Blames Fentanyl Deaths on Americans

The Cato Institute’s chief open borders advocate Alex Nowrasteh is making headlines for blaming fentanyl deaths on Americans during a hearing on immigration and the fentanyl crisis.

Nowrasteh is best known for his bogus studies purporting to show that illegal aliens commit crimes at lower rates than Native born Americans, which have made him the media’s “go to” open borders advocate. His bogus results are based on apples to oranges comparisons, namely that in America the average convict released has about four prior convictions (excluding convictions that didn’t result in jail time). Because illegal immigrants will simply be deported at the end of their sentence (or be deported in lieu of other punishment), the chance of them re-offending is essentially zero (unless they’re to reenter the U.S.). Thus, a group that has the ability to reoffend is being compared to one that generally doesn't. 

The costs of illegal immigration stretch far beyond crime; consider the costs of providing “free” healthcare to all illegals in the country, covering the cost of public schools for their American born children, having higher insurance rates due to illegal driving uninsured, and much, much more. Countless other costs outside of crime are imposed on the American public as a result of illegal immigration. 

Other consequences, such as the explosion in fentanyl overdoses, aren’t being included in the statistics as crimes at all. 

This was brought up to Nowrasteh in a heated hearing - a point he brushed aside on the basis that it’s “people who voluntarily take fentanyl” who died, and thus their deaths apparently don’t get to count as being caused by illegal aliens. The characterization isn’t even correct, considering how many fentanyl drugs are from other drugs being tainted with it, not users knowingly ingesting fentanyl. 

As cartoonish as it might sound to describe Nowrasteh as being “pro-illegal alien drug dealer,” consider his own words. In a widely mocked tweet back from March, Norwasteh mocked people for wanting to arrest drug dealers. “How dare she sell drugs to people who want to buy them” he quipped in response to news of an illegal alien drug dealer being arrested. 

Open borders advocate has long argued in favor of mass illegal immigration on the basis that there are supposedly “jobs Americans just won’t do” - and apparently fentanyl trafficking is among them. 

You can watch the full exchange below: