In our latest fact-checking collaboration with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Jake Tapper looks at President Donald Trump’s repeated claim that a proposed wall at the U.S.-Mexico border will stop the illegal flow of drugs into the U.S.
At an April 9 cabinet meeting, the president said: “We need a wall. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, we need a wall. And it’ll stop your drug flow. It’ll knock the hell out of the drug flow.”
We fact-checked a similar statement last year when the president said that a “wall will stop much of the drugs from pouring into this country and poisoning our youth.” As we said at the time, most illicit drugs pass undetected through legal ports of entry.
A 2015 report by the Drug Enforcement Administration said the Mexican cartels “transport the bulk of their drugs over the Southwest Border through ports of entry (POEs) using passenger vehicles or tractor trailers.”
The video is based on our story “Will Trump’s Wall Stop Drug Smuggling?” All videos in the series can be found on our website.