During a hearing held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Surveillance, Fox News commentator and retired DEA agent Derek Maltz gave an impassioned speech on the influx of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. from various drug cartels operating on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Maltz acknowledged that "many" migrants are coming over the border simply to find a better life, but added that "we also have terrorists, we have rapists, we have sexual predators" who illegally cross as well.
When it was Steve Cohen's (D-TN) turn to speak, he asked the panel of witnesses, which included two doctors, what has been actually proven to work when it comes to reducing the spread of drugs. He then turned to Maltz, and said that people who argue for the death penalty for drug dealers forget that criminals will commit crime regardless of the penalties.
"I don't think people who buy the fentanyl think they're gonna overdose ... and I suspect that the people who deal it don't think they're gonna get caught -- even if you have the death penalty they don't think, 'I'm gonna get caught.'"
IN OTHER NEWS: Furious Ted Cruz shouts at Merrick Garland as he erupts over Kavanaugh protests
Maltz immediately took exception to Cohen's use of the word "overdose," and scolded him for not framing the crisis as an attack on America's youth.
"I've been dealing with the families for many years and there's no action going on in this town," Maltz told Cohen. "So I will tell you this ... first of all, I would appreciate it if you stopped calling it an overdose. It's a poisoning and it's a war against our kids. So stop with the overdosing, that's part of the problem -- the American public thinks it's a substance that people want to take."
