Republican AGs urge Trump to crack down on obscure 'loophole' cartels use to flood US with fentanyl

"On its face, this looks hyper technical and bureaucratic, but what it is is closing a loophole," Coleman told Fox News Digital in an interview on Monday. "And it's closing a loophole where we receive a massive number of shipments from overseas, particularly China, that receive under this Type 86 with little or no inspection. And that should astound people, that there's little or no inspection in this threat environment."

Coleman is referring to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pilot program called Entry Type 86, which was introduced to streamline the importation process for low-value shipments, particularly those associated with e-commerce. However, Coleman, along with 24 other Republican attorneys general, says the program's "use far exceeds its original scope" and "raises serious concerns about the flood of deadly drugs coming into our country."

"We're looking at over a billion packages shipped through this loophole last year," Coleman said. "That's in an environment where, I would argue, we're facing a threat that has never existed before, and that is this, no margin of error environment in which we're trying to raise families and protect families, and that is an environment where as little as one pill can and is killing people can and is killing folks Kentuckians."

"Entry Type 86 now accounts for 75% of all de minimis goods entering the United States, with shipments increasing from 153 million in 2015 to more than 1.2 billion in 2024," the AGs wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "Any surge of this magnitude requires further study, especially when it comes to potential challenges within our customs enforcement system. It raises serious concerns about the flood of deadly drugs coming."

Law enforcement and those in the shipping industry are well aware that this loophole exists, Coleman said, and it is unlikely to surprise those in Washington receiving this information, and there are ongoing dialogues about the potential dangers of parcel shipments with law enforcement agencies.

"This is what drug trafficking looks like in the 21st century," Coleman said. "It looks very different than 'Breaking Bad.' It looks very different than what we saw a decade ago. It's not surreptitious."

"I'm optimistic that the administration will be responsive," he added.

President Donald Trump has taken several steps to crack down on drug cartels since assuming office in January. Trump signed an executive order designating major Mexican drug cartels, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartels, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, allowing for actions such as freezing assets of individuals or groups supporting these cartels and enhances criminal penalties.

In addition to Kentucky's Coleman, attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming joined in on the letter.

Fox News Digital has reached out to CBP, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.