Is fentanyl smuggling on the rise?
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is used as a pain reliever in medical situations. It is also sold and used illicitly. Fentanyl is about 50 times more potent than heroin and played a role in more than two-thirds of fatal accidental drug overdoses in 2023. Most fentanyl is manufactured abroad and smuggled into the US, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
- Between January and August 2025, authorities seized 6,873 pounds of fentanyl at US borders, 52% less than the same period of 2024. In August, officials confiscated 755 pounds, down 45% from the month prior.
- Most fentanyl is found and seized from vehicles driven by US citizens at official ports of entry, according to a 2023 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report. Between January and August 2025, 78% of all confiscated fentanyl was intercepted at official entry points along the nation’s Southwest border.
- When it comes to drug seizures, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) only reports on fentanyl and heroin, and the share of heroin smuggling has declined while fentanyl has risen. According to US Customs and Border Protection, fentanyl accounted for about 32% of opioid seizures by weight in 2019, while heroin was 68%. By 2024, the shares had more than reversed, with fentanyl comprising 94%.
- DHS says the reported figures underrepresent the total amount of drugs trafficked into the country since data on drug seizures at borders reflects only the quantities CBP discovers.
How much revenue do tariffs generate?
If your online shopping total feels higher lately, tariffs could be a factor. The Trump administration has raised tariffs on goods from several countries this year. These customs duties, collected by CBP, are a revenue source for the federal government. Here are the receipts.
- As of August, fiscal year revenue from customs duties reached $165.2 billion, which was 136.7% higher than it was in the same month last year. In comparison, the federal government collected $77.0 billion customs duties (which includes tariffs) for all of FY 2024.
- In FY 2024, customs duties comprised 1.6% of total federal revenue. Despite record-high revenue in recent years, customs duties have not exceeded 2% of federal revenue since 1980.
- Customs duties revenue, adjusted for inflation, remained between $27 billion and $47 billion from 1980 to 2018. It grew from FY 2018 to FY 2022, reaching $108.2 billion.
- Tariffs and other customs duties were the largest source of federal revenues in the 18th and 19th centuries before the establishment of income taxes.
- Learn how tariffs affect trade in this video with USAFacts Founder Steve Ballmer.
Data behind the news
The federal government is still shut down. Here are the basics on this particular shutdown. But there’s even more to know, including what happens to government data during this timeand details on furloughs. And, finally, this is ultimately about agreeing on a federal budget.
Conflict between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and President Trump over a US attack on a boat in the Caribbean prompted President Trump to say that he would cut assistance to the country. Here are numbers on aid to Columbia.
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One last fact
The National Center for Education Statistics measures literacy on a scale of 0, meaning functionally illiterate, to 500, meaning the ability to process dense texts and apply logical reasoning to draw conclusions. The national average literacy score is 263.5.
Between 2017 and 2023, the average literacy score for US adults dropped 13 points. Dive into your state and county’s data.
