Some fentanyl dealers would be charged with felony murder under new bill

FIRST ON FOX: A new piece of legislation was introduced in both the House and the Senate on Tuesday that would allow fentanyl dealers connected to distribution resulting in death to be charged with felony murder.

Under current U.S. law, there is a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison for the same offense, but the legal process of prosecution is not tried as a murder case. The legislation would increase the severity and consequences of dealers to further crackdowns on the fentanyl crisis that has taken roughly 280,000 thousand American lives since 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIH). 

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Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Representative Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, unveiled the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act as a bicameral bill on Tuesday, which also marks National Fentanyl Awareness Day. The legislation will now head to committee in both chambers. 

“Drug cartels have taken advantage of loopholes at our borders to peddle illicit drugs into our country, meanwhile, our communities pay the price,” Gonzales told Fox News Digital. “My bill sends a strong message to those who work with cartels and other bad actors—if you sell the drug and take an innocent life, justice will be delivered. Our law enforcement agencies are in overdrive combating the drug epidemic in America, it’s time to take action and up the penalties for fentanyl dealers.” 

While the number of deaths is in the hundreds of thousands, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates that “nearly 64,000 pounds of fentanyl have been seized at the southern border,” which is enough to “kill 14 billion people.” 

“I have seen firsthand how the scourge of fentanyl has inflicted incredible tragedy on communities across Iowa,” Senator Joni Ernst told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “I have worked for years to protect Americans and stop this deadly epidemic. Increasing the severity of the punishment for the drug dealers responsible for the deaths of too many Iowans is long overdue.”

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The rise in the flow of the deadly drug has been largely tied to the influx of illegal immigrants over the past four years during the Biden Administration. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) estimates “more than 90% of interdicted fentanyl is stopped at Ports of Entry (POEs), where cartels attempt to smuggle it primarily in vehicles driven by U.S. citizens.”

With a recent decline in border apprehensions, the number of deaths resulting from consumption of fentanyl have declined as well. The CDC reported in February with the most recent data showing overall drug overdose deaths dropping 24% from October 2023 to September 2024.

President Donald Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, claimed at a White House press conference Monday morning that the Biden Administration “unsecured the border on purpose.” 

Homan went on to say that “border numbers are at a historic low” and that the U.S. has the “most secure border in the history of this nation.” 

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X @MizellPreston