SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — U.S. Senator John Thune is back in South Dakota following a trip to the southern border.
Thune visited the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to see first-hand the challenges facing U.S. border patrol agents. Thune says he witnessed many issues that concern him, including a lack of border agents and resources. Thune says while South Dakota is not a border state, the influx of drugs coming in from Mexico directly affects people here.
“This is an issue that’s impacting Americans all across the country, even if you live in the interior. And it is I described it this way earlier, it is an unmitigated disaster. It really is. This is a major crisis, as a national security implications. And it’s a humanitarian crisis,” Sen. Thune said.
Thune has introduced a bill in the Senate that would make it easier for families of overdose victims to file civil claims against countries like Mexico and China that enable the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Thune is also a supporter of a wall along the southern border.
