“Fentanyl coming across southern border into Morgan County, every state is a border state,” Sheriff Potter

Sheriff Wayne Potter Selected for U.S.- Mexico Border Delegation

This issue has not escaped the focus of United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN). He recently announced that he is leading a delegation of Tennessee Sheriffs and Mayors to the border to witness the national security crisis firsthand. It is obvious that Senator Hagerty understands the implications of the border crisis on small rural communities like Morgan County Tennessee. He was quoted as saying:

“What I’d like to share with you is what’s happening in my home state of Tennessee. What we’re seeing month after month are more overdoses and more deaths from illegal drugs that are coming across that southern border. That’s why this weekend, I’m going to take a group of leaders, sheriffs and mayors from my home state that are experiencing this firsthand in Tennessee, we’re going to travel to the border so that we can all encounter this and see exactly what’s happening and what’s failing at the border, because it’s precipitating deaths around the nation. 100,000 young people have died in America—just this past year alone—from drug overdoses,”

Senator Hagerty selected Sheriff Wayne Potter as a member of his delegation to the border, Potter was one of six Sheriffs and two county mayors who accompanied Hagerty along the southern border. Sheriff Potter spoke with leaders of the U.S. Border patrol and local sheriffs who are intimately familiar with the border problem. 

Sheriff Potter returned from Texas late Sunday night and when asked about the trip made the following statement concerning the border problem:

“You would have to see it to believe it, after visiting all of the sites and seeing sections of an unfinished wall, I am certain that the border crisis is significantly contributing to the drug problem inside Morgan County.” Potter went on to further explain that one of the deadliest drugs fentanyl, mainly originates from China and penetrates the weakest point of entry into the United States, which is the southern border. This storm of drugs passes from the southern border through East Tennessee traveling north.” He concluded by Stating, “We are in the middle of the storms path!” 

Potter visited the U.S. Mexican border at the following locations in Texas; McAllen, Anzalduas Park Marina, La Anacua Ranch, Laredo Texas, and concluding his trip  at the World Trade Bridge. 

Sheriff Potter’s participation in Senator Hagerty’s border delegation provides him with perspective and insight that will yield significant benefits to his department in combating the local drug problem.  

This is a proud moment for Morgan County as never before has a Morgan County official participated in a delegation reviewing a national issue of such importance. 

You can read more about the visit here.