President Donald J. Trump is once again proving he's the only leader globally willing to hold Mexico accountable for their role in perpetuating the deadly fentanyl crisis.
With his latest announcement threatening up to a 30% tariff on Mexican imports, President Trump is sending a clear message to Mexican leadership that their decades-long negligence on critical border issues must end.
The fentanyl crisis — one of the primary reasons for the tariff response — is devastating our communities and killing tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Since 2018, fentanyl alone has killed over a quarter of a million Americans.
This number represents nearly 70% of all overdose deaths each year.
The scale and human toll of this crisis is difficult to exaggerate.
Our nation's 47th commander in chief's strategy wisely addresses the root source of nearly all fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. — our shared border with Mexico.
While Mexican officials like to parade their "efforts" to curb the flow of illegal drugs, the truth is they’ve been failing for decades. Every gram of fentanyl entering our country represents a failure of Mexico to meet its most basic responsibility as our neighbor and trading partner.
President Trump uniquely understands the power of leverage, and economic tariffs are often the only language that foreign governments understand.
The grim toll of this epidemic rests partly on Mexico’s lax enforcement and weak policies.
President Trump’s decisive tariff threat is exactly the kind of tough love Mexico needs to finally take this crisis seriously.
But this isn’t just about fentanyl.
At the heart of illegal immigration and the illicit narcotics trade are the ruthless Mexican cartels, who have bribed and corrupted Mexican law enforcement to keep their money flowing.
By designating them as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), hardening our borders, and strategically deploying the military, the Trump Administration has significantly diminished their influence, power, and reach.
Now is the time to double down on this strategy.
Unfortunately, a lack of consistent policies on both sides of the border is fueling another emerging crisis. Mexico is handing another lucrative market to the cartels with their recent outright ban on e-cigarettes.
Cartels effectively function as multinational organizations that value profits over everything else.
Most Americans may not realize that cartels traffic not only humans and illegal narcotics but also everyday commodities.
The Mexican government’s constitutional ban on e-cigarettes will create an environment for dangerous, unregulated e-cigarettes to flood black markets, endangering Mexican citizens and vulnerable American communities along our southern border.
Once again, actions by the Mexican government are enriching the very criminal organizations President Trump is fighting to permanently defeat.
We need consistent, tough, and sensible policies on both sides of the border.
President Trump gets it - he knows that our national security doesn’t stop at the Rio Grande. It demands consistent partnership and accountability, something the Mexican government repeatedly fails to deliver.
If Mexico wants to benefit from the economic opportunities of trade with the U.S., they must step up.
Enriching the cartels through the creation of a new black market is not a solution.
President Trump is leading with strength, showing Mexico that they cannot enjoy the perks of a trading partnership while turning a blind eye to cartels, smugglers, and traffickers.
We’ve already seen results from President Trump’s leadership.
Illegal crossings dropped when Mexico was held accountable.
It's now time to apply that same principle across the board — from fentanyl to e-cigarettes, from human trafficking to cartel crime.
For the sake of American lives, border security, and economic prosperity, President Trump is doing what weak politicians refuse to do: putting Americans first and making Mexico clean up its act.
Chad F. Wolf serves as Chief Strategy Officer, Executive Vice President, and Chair of Homeland Security and Immigration at the America First Policy Institute. He is the former acting Secretary of Homeland Security during President Trump’s first term.