Washington, DC — Senator Joni Ernst says trained dogs should search every vehicle driving north through border crossings along the US/Mexico border to stop the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs.
Ernst recently saw a patrol with up to five drug-sniffing dogs in action at the border crossing in San Diego.
There are 38 border crossings for vehicle traffic between the US and Mexico, but the San Diego Port of Entry is the world’s busiest land border crossing. Ernst says they’re training more dogs and handlers to take shifts there and it will take a while to have enough canines to search all border crossings.
Ernst led a congressional delegation to the southern border this past weekend, with stops in California and New Mexico. Iowans Randy Feenstra and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who serve in the US House, were part of the trip. The group went to Mexico City as well. Feenstra says the meeting with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs focused on Mexico’s proposal to ban the import of genetically modified corn, starting in 2024.
Miller-Meeks says she found Mexican officials willing partners.
Miller-Meeks says adding canine units on both sites of the border makes sense, as it doesn’t cost as much or take up land like cameras and other monitoring devices.
