On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump (R) exercised the power of the pen by issuing a slate of executive orders. Among his executive orders were directions targeting the border crisis and drug cartels, which have drawn praise from prominent Republicans.
The president issued a high-profile order to redesignate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Texas Rep. Brian Babin (R) not only agrees with the move, but he believes it's been a long time coming.
In an exclusive interview with Texas Politics, Rep. Babin sang high praise for the president's executive orders, noting that he believed drug cartels should've been designated as foreign terrorist organizations under the first Trump Administration.
“I think his redesignating the Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations is exactly the right thing to do,” Rep. Babin said. “These cartels are trafficking millions of people into our country, putting them in human bondage and servitude. Up to five hundred thousand children are missing, potentially in sexual bondage. These are absolutely horrendous crimes against the United States,” he detailed.
The Texas congressman attributed the cartels’ influence directly to the fentanyl epidemic plaguing America, pointing out its devastating toll on younger generations.
“They’re killing over a hundred thousand Americans a year from drug overdoses, most of it fentanyl," he lamented. "The most common cause of death if you’re between 18 and 45 in the United States today [is] drug overdose. And that is coming right from there.”
The president also issued other executive orders related to illegal immigration such as reinstating policies like the Remain in Mexico program and expanding Title 42 measures in an effort to expedite deportations.
On the issue of combating the drug cartels, Rep. Babin reflect on the United States' past success in Colombia, Babin expressing cautious support for the possibility of U.S. intervention in Mexico. Should the U.S. decide to intervene, it has drones and advanced weaponry that it could use to fend off against the cartels. However, Rep. Babin voiced skepticism about the Mexican government’s willingness to cooperate.
“I really don’t trust the Mexican government, quite frankly. They don’t want to think of United States forces on Mexican soil," he said. "I hope that wouldn’t be necessary, but if it comes down to it, it needs to happen.”
