The Threat of “Liquid Meth” and the Open Border

Open borders allow the entry of not only massive numbers of illegal aliens, but also the large-scale smuggling and importation of dangerous drugs. While much of the focus has been on fentanyl, one emerging threat is “liquid meth”, and its impact on the country is likely to be devastating. It demonstrates the ways in which criminals are always looking for new ways to get rich, harming Americans in the process.

One challenge for criminals, even with weakly-guarded borders, is smuggling drugs in without detection by law enforcement. The main appeal of liquid meth is simply that it is easier to smuggle. Once smuggled in, the liquids are taken to what law enforcement call “conversion labs,” where additional chemical processes are used to convert the liquid meth into drugs for sale. The labs use gases and chemicals that are often highly flammable and toxic, making them both a crime scene and a hazardous material situation. This places first responders like firefighters in tremendous danger.

While perhaps not the cash cow of fentanyl, which raises $400 in income for a gang for every $1 spent in production, liquid meth is still capable of earning money for criminal actors. Law enforcement has seen regular liquid meth seizures since the current border crisis. These include a seizure of liquid meth disguised as pallets of drinking water, and liquid meth hidden in the fuel tanks of a tractor trailer. One recent seizure of liquid meth August 2024 in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, was the biggest seizure in the history of the Combined Anti-Drug Task Force. Law enforcement will continue to be challenged by smugglers.

Meth production is also damaging to the environment. InSight Crime accompanied Mexican officials on a raid in Sinaloa, and came across a meth lab with enough chemicals to produce 5,000 liters of liquid meth. Local livestock had been killed by contaminated drinking water caused by meth waste. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on “Drugs and the Environment” found that for every 1 kilogram of meth produced, 10 kilograms of waste are generated. In addition to polluting soil and water, and killing livestock, rare animals such as jaguars are also impacted by this drug-related pollution, undercutting conservation efforts.

In addition to drug addiction, the labs pose a serious threat to the environment and local homes, as well as businesses and schools. In October, police in Marietta, Georgia uncovered a conversion lab. The three suspects arrested were illegal aliens from Guatemala. The lab was reported to be near schools. The callous disregard for the lives of children only underscores the threat posed by open borders. In addition to poisoning the soil and water of the local environment, a serious chemical fire could fill the atmosphere with toxic smoke and place all the local community at risk.

Meth ranks among heroin and fentanyl as a major killer of Americans. It is also part of a trend by criminal actors away from plant-based drugs, like cocaine, and towards synthetics. As Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram said in the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment report “At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates.” These associates include Chinese money launderers.

Liquid meth is yet another deadly threat placing all Americans at risk that is attributable to open borders. With CBP overstretched processing waves of migrants (some deliberately driven towards ports of entry by cartels eager to tie up CBP personnel), the threat is even greater.