Drug overdose deaths in the United States have plummeted amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on the southern border.
U.S. drug overdose deaths fell by 20.6 percent over the course of one year, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Meanwhile, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia, New York, Vermont, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia saw more than 30 percent decreases in drug overdose deaths.
The data examined U.S. deaths from August 2024 to August 2025, as the Biden administration increased border enforcement near the end of his term — amid heavy criticism — before President Trump took office last year, after which the decline in drug overdose deaths accelerated.
“The fall begins at the end of the Biden administration, but the question is, was it in anticipation of a tough-on-crime president coming in?” Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct criminal justice professor at Penn State Lehigh Valley, told Fox News.
“Securing the borders has a lot to do with the drop,” Giacalone added. “Less chance for drug dealers and their mules to bring drugs into the country.”
The CDC noted that the data is provisional due to some causes of death still being investigated.
While other factors may include increased availability of opioid overdose antidotes, such as Narcan, the retired NYPD sergeant said he believes that nothing has made a bigger impact than “shutting down the floodgates at the border.”
“The jury is still out on the effect of blowing up drug boats, but I can imagine it working as a deterrent as well,” Giacalone said. “Deterrence matters in criminal justice policy.”
While the CDC did not offer a reason for the recent plummet in U.S. drug overdose deaths, many have taken the news as a sign that President Trump’s tough-on-crime policies are working.
Earlier this month, podcaster Joe Rogan noted that drug overdose deaths in the United States have “dropped off a cliff,” citing the Trump administration destroying drug smugglers’ boats in recent months.
“For the time Trump’s been in office, deaths by overdose have dropped off a cliff,” Rogan told Olympic gold medalist and wrestler Gable Steveson during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.
Rogan then displayed a chart showing the number of U.S. drug overdose deaths per year, stating, “The peak was between 2023 and 2024,” adding, “Then from the time Trump’s in office, it’s taken a fucking sharp downturn.”
“Look at 2024 and leading into 2025 — these are all deaths from overdoses,” he added. “I mean, that’s kind of crazy. Look at that drop.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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