Alexandria, VA – Michael McHale, President of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), issued the following statement regarding the Administration’s announcement it is taking executive action on de minimis reform:

Law enforcement is battling the trafficking of illegal narcotics on multiple fronts, including the international mail system. The de minimis loophole is severely exacerbating the opioid crisis by allowing fentanyl and other illegal opioids to enter our country largely uninspected. Substantial reform, or the closing of this trade loophole altogether, is necessary to remove significant fentanyl trafficking routes into this country and is essential to any national strategy to end the fentanyl crisis. NAPO appreciates this first step by the Administration to limit the number of packages coming in through the de minimis environment and we agree that comprehensive reform is immediately required as more must be done to ensure the de minimis trade exemption will no longer be a gateway for illicit drugs and goods to cross our borders. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to fully close this loophole given the urgency of the crisis.