Staff Reports
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin used a Breitbart policy event this week to do what too many in Washington have been afraid to do: name a real weak spot and demand action. He pointed at the FDA “green list” and the import‑alert system as a place Congress must close a loophole that cartels and bad actors can exploit to get fentanyl ingredients into the United States. If lawmakers won’t step up, Secretary Mullin warned, the nation will keep paying for their inaction with more lives lost to synthetic opioids.
Mullin’s warning: close the FDA “green list” loophole
The FDA’s green list exists for a good reason: to streamline trusted supply chains and avoid needless holds on legitimate drug ingredients. But Secretary Mullin made the blunt point that “trusted” status can be abused. He says some ingredients and precursor chemicals tied to fentanyl production are slipping through import alerts that were meant to protect Americans. That’s not just bureaucratic hair‑splitting — it’s a national security problem. If suppliers in China and India can sneak harmful ingredients under the guise of compliance, the green list becomes a welcome mat for cartels.
Border pressure is shifting the crisis inland — and tribal lands complicate enforcement
Mullin also admitted something simple and uncomfortable: when we squeeze one part of the smuggling network, problems surface elsewhere. He told the audience interdictions at the border have dropped where DHS has applied pressure, but the threats have moved into the interior. He even said the largest fentanyl lab bust in his tenure happened on tribal land and pointed to jurisdictional gaps between DHS, HHS, tribal governments, and other agencies. That last claim needs public confirmation from DOJ or HSI, but the underlying point is real — enforcement in Indian Country is often a maze of federal, tribal, and state rules that criminals happily exploit.
Oversight backs Mullin’s alarm — enforcement capacity is slipping
This isn’t just hot air. A recent DHS OIG audit found HSI’s fentanyl investigations and seizures fell off sharply in the last reported year, and that analytic tools and information sharing weren’t cutting it. You can’t fix a supply‑chain loophole with speeches alone. Congress must fund better tools, demand clearer interagency roles, and give law enforcement faster routes to act when an import alert lights up. Otherwise the “green list” will keep doing what it does now: helping honest trade while giving criminals a backdoor they call opportunity.
What Congress should do next
Secretary Mullin put the ball in Congress’s court. Lawmakers should tighten the import‑alert rules so green‑list status requires more transparency, faster law‑enforcement referrals, and periodic rechecks. They should clarify HHS and DHS roles so protections for public health don’t hand bad actors cover. They must also shore up enforcement on tribal lands through better coordination and resources for tribal partners — not by lecturing tribal leaders from Washington, but by funding real, boots‑on‑the‑ground cooperation. The alternative is complacency — and our families already pay that bill in overdoses and ruined lives. If Congress cares about border security, drug enforcement, or common sense, it will move quickly on Mullin’s straightforward ask. No more window dressing. Close the loopholes or quit pretending we’re protecting the American people.
