Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he is pleased that the White House is focusing attention on addressing drug-related violence in the border region. 

The Obama administration today highlighted its comprehensive response to violence in Mexico, and some of the key features are initiatives Bingaman is behind. 

For example, the administration announced today that it is relocating 100 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to the border region through Project Gunrunner to prevent drug cartels from being armed.  The $15 million that will fund that effort was secured by Bingaman in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill.  The funding will be used to disrupt illegal arms trafficking from the United States into Mexico. 

Bingaman also helped secure $30 million in the recovery act to assist state and local law enforcement agencies – another key border initiative the White House touted today. 

“For a long time, the needs of the border region didn’t get adequate attention.  But in the past two months alone, we have dedicated millions of dollars to initiatives that I believe will have a direct impact on improving security in the area,” Bingaman said.  “The White House’s interest in the border region bodes very well for our state.” 

Bingaman and other members of the New Mexico delegation wrote to the Obama administration last week asking that a Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) be assigned to New Mexico.  BEST teams bring together local law enforcement with personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ATF and the FBI to address the illegal trafficking of drugs, weapons, and bulk cash.  This partnership helps ensure that law enforcement efforts to combat drug cartels and smuggling operations are carried out in a comprehensive, coordinated, and targeted manner.  The White House announced it will double the number of agents assigned to BEST teams throughout the border area, and Bingaman will continue pressing that one of them be put in New Mexico. 

Here is a complete outline of the Obama administration’s border security efforts.