Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, and Representatives Harry Teague, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujàn today asked the federal government to establish a multi-agency task force in New Mexico to help address the recent spike in drug-related criminal activity and strengthen overall border security in the region.  

In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, the New Mexico congressional delegation expressed the need for a Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) within New Mexico.  BEST teams bring together personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with state and local law enforcement agencies, 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.

“Although there are currently nine BEST teams situated along the southern border, including four in Texas, New Mexico is the only state along the Southwest border without a team.  The lack of a BEST team in New Mexico limits the ability of state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in coordinated efforts to identify and disrupt criminal enterprises, and reduces information sharing and collaborative opportunities.  These multi-agency task forces have demonstrated their effectiveness, and we strongly believe that establishing a BEST in New Mexico should be part of any comprehensive plan to address the security situation along the Southwest border,” the letter states.

Ongoing violence in Mexico is having a devastating impact on Mexico and is raising concerns for border communities on both sides of the border.  In 2008, more than 5,300 people were killed in Mexico -- double the number in the previous year.  More than 1,600 of those deaths were in Ciudad Juarez, near El Paso, Texas.  Drug traffickers are at war with each other.  Assassinations of police and government officials are commonplace.  Lawyers and journalists have been killed, and many innocent civilians have been caught up in the crossfire.