Congressman Josh Riley tackles upstate fentanyl crisis at community hearing

VESTAL, N.Y. (WBNG) -- Congressman Josh Riley brought together law enforcement, scientists and families affected by the fentanyl epidemic Thursday to tackle one of upstate New York’s most pressing crises.

Riley hosted a community conversation at Binghamton University, uniting an unlikely coalition with one goal: stopping the flow of fentanyl into communities.

“We heard some stories today from folks so we have to figure out a way to solve this problem and fight the fentanyl trafficking,” Riley said.

The stories shared were heartbreaking. Dorothy Sanchez from Sullivan County lost her son to addiction. Kaylee Heart’s husband, a corrections officer, has been exposed to fentanyl twice — once alongside 11 other officers who were hospitalized.

“We owe it to people like Dorothy and Kaylee and Steve to secure the border and crackdown on the fentanyl trafficking, and one of the ways we can do that is get the best and brightest scientists in the country on the case,” Riley said.

Heart described the danger in prisons as critical, saying fentanyl is airborne and inmates are “weaponizing” it against officers.

Help may be on the horizon. Riley is working with scientists to develop state-of-the-art detection technologies that can identify fentanyl before it enters communities.

“They’re here doing this because they care so much about this community, they love this community as much as I do. So we’re all in this together to try to figure it out, and that gives me some hope,” Riley said.

Local police chiefs shared urgent concerns. The Endicott police chief warned that drug organizations are relocating to Canada to exploit border routes into New York. The Ellenville police chief said the solution requires stopping the supply to stem the demand and called for harsher sentencing guidelines.

“It’s not the fault of folks in our community who are dealing with the consequences of this, so we need to take care of our people, and we have to fight like hell against the drug traffickers, and that’s what this really is all about,” Riley said.

Riley’s office is pushing federal legislation to address the crisis: the Stop Fentanyl Smuggling Act, the Halt Fentanyl Act — which was signed into law last July — and the Catch Fentanyl Act, which funds advanced technology like AI to improve cargo inspections at border ports.

What emerged from the community conversation is a sense of shared purpose among doctors, police, families and scientists working together to save lives and protect the next generation.

Riley said the dedication shown by everyone in the room gives him hope that solutions are within reach. Federal officials say the focus is on developing detection technologies while continuing to strengthen border security and sentencing guidelines.