Former VP nominee Sen. Kaine in RGV to talk fentanyl interdiction

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) held an information news conference Thursday across the street from Gateway International Bridge to discuss interdiction efforts by U.S. authorities to stem the flow of fentanyl from Mexico.

He also shared his views on Joe Biden staying in the presidential race versus dropping out.

Fentanyl overdose is the leading cause for Americans aged 18-45, according to Kaine’s office. The drug claimed nearly 1,800 lives in Virginia in 2023, a huge increase from 50 fentanyl overdose deaths in Virginia in 2012. Of an estimated 5,566 drug-related deaths in Texas between August 2022 and August 2023, 45 percent involved fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kaine’s Brownsville visit was part of his 36-hour tour of the southern border, during which he was also scheduled to meet with U.S. Border Patrol personnel in McAllen to observe and discuss interdiction efforts. While in Brownsville, Kaine also paid a visit to Veterans International Bridge, which has large-scale technology for inspecting commercial vehicles.

On Friday he was scheduled to visit with various federal law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations. Kaine said he also planned to meet with Mexican consular officials in the United States “to get their take on the challenge.”

Kaine, the former Virginia governor who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate during the 2016 election, chatted with reporters in English and Spanish.

“It’s a 36-hour trip, which is too short, but it’s sure better than no trip,” he said. “It gives me a chance to say, OK, we’ve done these things. Is it working. Can it work better? Do you need more help? That’s what I’m trying to find out. … I wanted to come because we’re doing investments, especially technology investments, but I hadn’t really seen them in action.

“It is really important, having battled for funding, having fought to do things to enhance our fentanyl interdiction, to actually see what’s happened.”

He said a recent supplemental bill in Congress devoted largely to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza also contained significant funding to combat fentanyl.

“I want to see what these investments are actually doing, how they’re working,” Kaine said.

He noted that the very latest interdiction technologies, such as for inspecting commercial vehicles, are being piloted in places like Brownsville, Laredo and San Diego, and that the percentage of cargo inspected at ports-of-entry with the newest technology has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, he said.

“I’ve heard again and again and again we’re doing much better,” Kaine said. “But we’re trying to do more. So it was great to have a chance to see some of the technology and see how the process works.”

Customs and Border Protection are working very hard in tandem with other agencies to combat the problem, he said.

Kaine noted that U.S. drug overdose deaths declined from 2022 to 2023, in Virginia as well, “but not not enough.”

“There’s a lot more we can do and the folks here are … trying to make it happen,” he said.

Asked by The Brownsville Herald whether Joe Biden should remain in the presidential race amid growing calls by fellow Democrats to step down and let someone else run, Kaine said he believed the president would do the right thing.

“Here’s what I deeply believe: Joe Biden has been an amazing public servant and a great president,” Kaine said. “I have confidence in him. He’s going to make the right decision for the country. If he decides, ‘I got this,’ I’m with him. We’re going to make this happen.”

Citing his own Senate race in Virginia, Kaine said he’s been touting Biden’s record in terms of things like lower unemployment, healthier 401(k) plans, fewer Americans uninsured and growth in American manufacturing.

On the other hand, if Biden decides he’s not up for it, “he’s going to level with the American public because he always puts his country over himself,” he said.