A coalition of more than 40 sheriffs from 18 states released a joint letter addressed to the public on Tuesday, slamming the Biden-Harris administration’s destructive open-border policies for unleashing crime and drug surges in small-town America.

In the letter, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, the sheriffs expressed “grave concern for the safety and security of our communities” nationwide, noting that under the current administration, “Every town is a border town.”

'The impact is broken families, lost futures, and devastated communities.'

“As sheriffs, our first duty is to protect the citizens we serve, but today, we find ourselves confronted by a growing crisis that threatens the very fabric of our country and its sovereignty: open-border policies,” they wrote.

The sheriffs blamed the administration for allowing between 10 to 15 million foreign nationals to cross the border illegally, adding that those totals are “more than the individual population of 46 states in our nation.”

By refusing to enforce the country’s existing immigration laws, the Biden-Harris administration has “allowed dangerous criminals, human traffickers, and drug cartels” to infiltrate American communities, they contended.

“The result is a flood of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our cities and towns. The impact is broken families, lost futures, and devastated communities,” the sheriffs continued.

The Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, and their Democratic allies have repeatedly insisted that the only way to stop the immigration crisis is for Congress to pass more laws — specifically, the failed so-called "bipartisan" border Senate bill, the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R. 815.

However, the coalition of sheriffs appeared to push back on the administration’s false claims that it does not already have the authority to shut down mass illegal immigration.

“The President alone can act to fix this crisis. The president can suspend or restrict the entry of noncitizens if it is deemed in the national interest, proclaim a national emergency along the border, and redirect federal funds to construct a border wall. The Biden-Harris Administration has done none of these. And we are seeing the consequences,” they wrote.

Sheriffs Rich Stanek of Hennepin County, Minnesota; Chad Leonard of Dallas County, Iowa; Adam Infante of Dallas County, Iowa; and Mark Lamb of Pinal County, Arizona, were among those who signed the letter.

Sheriff James Custer of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, another signatory, told the DCNF about how the fentanyl crisis has impacted his community.

“I’ve seen this trend has been going on over the last three years, the fentanyl crisis, that has come across our southern border. ... Our overdose deaths rose each year,” Custer stated. “Now we are in a slight decline this year, but we have several deaths pending toxicology results.”

Sheriff Bob Songer of Klickitat County, Washington, who also signed the sheriffs’ letter, told the DCNF, “Personally, I think both the Biden administration and their administrative staff ought to be charged with treason, they’ve broken this country to where we don’t have a border.”

The Biden-Harris administration and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

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