West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced the detention of at least 58 individuals within a day of ordering cooperation between Charleston and federal immigration authorities. The governor pledged full support for President Trump's efforts to combat illegal immigration, citing its role in fueling the state's drug crisis. Morrisey emphasized the importance of taking every step to address this issue, stating that West Virginia has a crucial interest in stopping the flow of deadly fentanyl into the state.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced on Tuesday that approximately 58 individuals had been detained within a day of ordering cooperation between Charleston and federal immigration authorities. By midday on Tuesday, these individuals were held within the Regional Jail system pending verification of their immigration status.
Morrisey indicated that further detentions are likely imminent, repeatedly pledging his full support for President Donald Trump's campaign against illegal immigration. Morrisey, a Republican who assumed office just two weeks prior, promised a comprehensive update on his administration's operations on Thursday, asserting that West Virginia has compelling reasons to take every available measure to address this crisis beyond the fact that these individuals are allegedly present in the country illegally. West Virginia holds the unfortunate distinction of leading the nation in drug overdose deaths per capita, and Morrisey claims that illegal immigration and cartel smuggling are key contributors to this crisis. 'To be clear, our numbers may be lower than others in terms of illegal immigrants... but I’ve repeatedly talked about the impact of having illegal immigrants bring deadly fentanyl into the state — that’s flooding in from Mexico raw ingredients coming from China,' stated the governor. The West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources recorded 1,389 drug overdose deaths statewide in 2023, a slight decrease from the peak of 1,537 in 2021. In 2001, there were only 212 such drug-related deaths among its estimated 1.75 million people. 'You’re going to find a Morrisey administration very cooperative with the Trump administration… It’s important for West Virginia because we have to stop this senseless death,' he emphasized.Morrisey expressed his admiration for Trump and asserted that the actions taken by the White House are 'absolutely correct.' 'We will take all appropriate steps to protect our citizens and work with the Trump Administration to crack down on illegal immigration,' Morrisey stated in a separate communication to Fox News Digital. The initiative has garnered praise from other state officials. State Delegate Wayne Clark, R-Charles Town, characterized it as 'good progress' on both the illegal immigration front and the effort to curb the state’s drug crisis. Huntington Police Chief Phil Watkins revealed that some of his officers provided assistance to recent ICE operations in Huntington, West Virginia's second-largest city. 'As a general practice, we always try to accommodate requests for assistance from any of our law enforcement partners,' he explained to Wheeling’s CBS affiliate. The Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation confirmed in a statement that it is detaining suspected illegal immigrant criminals in its facilities at the urging of federal agencies such as ICE and the FBI
Illegal Immigration Drug Crisis West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey ICE Donald Trump
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