Biden to tout efforts to crack down on fentanyl smuggling in State of the Union

Washington — In his second State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden is slated to outline a series of actions the federal government is taking to crack down on the smuggling of fentanyl along the southern border, where Mexican cartels have sought to traffic thousands of pounds of the deadly synthetic opioid into the U.S. over the past year alone.

Mr. Biden is expected to argue his administration is disrupting the trafficking of fentanyl into the U.S. by increasing scanning technology at official border crossings, broadening the government's collaboration with delivery companies to identify suspicious packages and enlisting the help of other countries in curbing overseas production of the drug, the White House said.

The president will also urge Congress to pass a law that would increase criminal penalties for traffickers who alter the chemical makeup of fentanyl in hopes of evading federal regulation and prosecution, the White House added in a preview of the president's remarks.