White House Doesn't Know if There's Target Date for Sealing Border From Influx of Drugs

Monday, May 10, 2010
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

Washington (CNSNews.com) – A White House spokesman did not know if President Barack Obama has a target date for sealing the southern border from the influx of illegal drugs, but he did say that border security would be part of any immigration reform bill.

Obama expressed support for comprehensive immigration reform during a Cinco de Mayo event in the Rose Garden, and he also stressed the need for bipartisanship to pass such legislation. But neither the president nor other advocates have addressed the issue of drugs coming into the country in the context of immigration reform.

Almost one-in-five teens ages 12 through 17 have used illegal drugs in the past year, according to the National Drug Threat Assessment for 2010, published by the National Drug Intelligence Center, a division of the U.S. Justice Department.

The assessment also said that Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the predominant supplier of illegal drugs in the United States. “Law enforcement reporting and case initiation data show that Mexican DTOs control most of the wholesale cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine distribution in the United States, as well as much of the marijuana distribution,â€