The border got tougher — and suddenly the death toll started dropping.
Drug overdose deaths in the United States fell by more than 20% last year, according to the latest CDC data — a sharp drop that comes as President Donald Trump ramps up his crackdown on the country’s porous borders.
Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, New York, Vermont, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia saw drops of more than 30%.
“The fall begins at the end of the Biden administration, but the question is, was it in anticipation of a tough-on-crime president coming in?” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct criminal justice professor at Penn State Lehigh Valley.
The CDC numbers — tracking deaths through August 2025 — show a grim arc: rising heading into Trump’s first term, then largely flat, followed by a spike and plateau under President Joe Biden.
The agency didn’t pinpoint a single cause for the decline. But the timing overlaps with tougher border enforcement — and Giacalone says that’s the big reason.
“Securing the borders has a lot to do with the drop,” Giacalone told Fox News Digital. “Less chance for drug dealers and their mules to bring drugs into the country.”
After facing heavy criticism, the Biden administration stepped up enforcement near the end of his term, and the decline accelerated when Trump returned to office.
Other factors may include wider access to overdose antidotes like Narcan — but Giacalone says nothing beats cutting off supply lines. “Shutting down the floodgates at the border,” he said, made the biggest impact.
And he floated another hardline deterrent — even if the final verdict is still pending.
“The jury is still out on the effect of blowing up drug boats, but I can imagine it working as a deterrent as well,” he added. “Deterrence matters in criminal justice policy.”
The CDC noted the data is provisional, since some causes of death are still under investigation.
More over at Fox News:
BORDER CRACKDOWN: Drug overdose deaths plummet 20% as Trump administration tightens southern border enforcement. Louisiana and Florida see 30% drops, CDC data shows. https://t.co/yZakYQwIXu
— Fox News US (@FoxUSNews) January 20, 2026
