Your disconnecting the two. Fentanyl (along with crime) and guns in the US are closely interconnected. The fentanyl comes from China and trafficked through Mexico with the cartels the middle men over land, sea, and air. A lot of it comes over directly into the US via international mail or shipping into the US ports. Very small amount comparably is through the immigrant problem the New GOP has spent the attention to.
Guns are a main source of cartel power and violence (along with criminal orgs here in the US). It is reported that there are a 100's of thousands deaths in Mexico from that gun violence. 100s of thousands (who knows how many, probably millions) in Mexico has also been terrorized, threatened, and controlled with those same guns. We're not even getting to the terrorizing done here in the US (you can't just count the deaths or the deaths just in the US caused by USA sales of guns). Yeh I hear the "... only criminals will have the guns" spiel, but that just puts the cart before the horse. Doesn't fly, the criminals get the guns from all that legal supply. If supply is limited in any product, it limits that supply all way down the chain. Doesn't matter if your on either side of the subject, those are the numbers of reality.
It has been reported that 150 million guns have been bought by Americans since Sandy Hook. Also reported and estimated that around a half million guns every year gets bought in the US legally by the Cartels network and then go into Mexico. Mexico has maybe one or two places one can buy guns legally for selling to about 150 million Mexican citizens. The US has over 65,000 gun stores. More than supermarkets, McDonalds, and Starbucks put together. 70-80% of all guns confiscated in Mexico has been traced back to the US. A big chunk of that comes from Texas with their loose gun laws.
You can throw in the comparison of fentanyl deaths here and Mexico. You won't get much, the market for those drugs are in the US, not much money in the market in Mexico. But the connection between drugs, crime, the supply of guns, Cartel border violence, and the right wing view of guns and the border, the extreme New GOP's base and party with their connection to crime and terrorism cannot be separated. They are one.
Human trafficking's by the Cartel also needs a market. This market is in the US created over the decades by hiring of those illegal immigrants by large agriculture, construction, casinos, motels, restaurant companies, and the like. A lot of smaller companies also, promising jobs and money to "if you can get here" and working with the Cartels and their subordinates. Making trillions of profit and billions every year of income (net gains) for Texas alone. Large business and corp that plays both sides, but historically been heavy on the GOP side.
This has evolved into too much supply at once now (what does one expect with so many carrots dangling for so many decades), so what better way for the Right-wing to use that for their political purposes, continuing to profit by the dilemma.
