10 Republican Governors Visited Abbott and it Wasn't 100% Over Migrants - It May be this Deadly Reason (Opinion)

State governors visit Governor AbbottPhoto byTwitter

Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott requested support from the country’s governors. He wanted assistance to deal with the border crisis as illegal immigrants and fentanyl drug was crossing the Texas border causing deaths throughout the country.

Abbott wasn’t getting the support he needed from President Joe Biden, so he reached out to his peers last week.

All 24 Republican governors answered his call and 10 governors visited Abbott in Austin this week. Other governors went a step further and sent support including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who sent personnel and equipment.

You may think their primary concern was migrants but there may be another reason why they vouched support for Governor Abbott and Operation Lone Star.

Since Governor Abbott started Operation Lone Star, it has apprehended 376,000 illegal immigrants and more than 28,000 criminal arrests. The main reason the governors supported Abbott maybe this. Since the border mission started, law enforcement seized over 416 million lethal doses of fentanyl.

Texas Border Czar Mike Banks disagreed with the Biden administration that 90% of fentanyl has been seized at the port of entry. Border Patrol agents see it differently.

This along with the deaths of Texans due to fentanyl was the reason Governor Abbott announced the One Pill Kill Campaign last October.

Joining Abbott in Texas were Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Idaho Governor Brad Little, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The states may have some migrants but the governors' main concern is fentanyl.

Here’s a breakdown of how the drug has impacted these states:

• Since 2020, Arkansas lost 708 Arkansans to fentanyl overdoses.
• In 2021, 353 Idahoans died from a fentanyl overdose.
• In 2021, Iowa saw 470 deaths from fentanyl
• In 2021, Mississippi saw 280 deaths from fentanyl
• In 2021, Nebraska saw 19 deaths from fentanyl
• In 2021, Oklahoma saw 299 deaths from fentanyl
• In 2021, South Carolina saw 1,494 deaths from fentanyl
• In 2019, Tennessee saw 171 deaths from fentanyl
• In 2021, Virginia saw 2039 deaths from fentanyl

Do you think the governors visited Abbott over the fentanyl crisis?