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Columbus, N.M. border fence
An amendment by U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall unanimously passed the U.S. Senate Wednesday.
The amendment calls for an additional $550 million for federal agents, investigators and resources to combat drug cartels and maintain law and order along the U.S.-Mexico border. It is an amendment to the congressional budget, S. Con. Res. 13.
“This amendment directs essential resources to the border region, and ensures that we are employing every tool necessary to protect New Mexicans and others who live in border communities,” Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, said.
“This initiative will enable us to better fight against the Mexican drug cartels fueling a war on our borders and posing a serious threat to our communities and law enforcement,” Udall, a Santa Fe Democrat, said.
In addition to $260 million in funding for Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, equip and send 1,600 officers and 400 canine teams to the border to to increase inspections of people and cars leaving the United States, Udall and Bingaman’s amendment includes the following:
· $10 million for Bingaman’s border law enforcement grant program, which assists law enforcement agencies along the southern border and in other high drug-trafficking areas
· $130 million to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for 350 full-time investigators to work on firearm trafficking and money-laundering investigations
· $20 million for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve the tactical communications in the field for U.S. Customs and Border Control (CBP) and ICE;
· $20 million for CBP to modernize its database, which is used to identify potential criminals at U.S. ports of entry
· $30 million for Operation Stonegarden to reimburse state and local law enforcement for their participation in border actions
· $50 million to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (AFT) to hire an additional 150 investigators and 50 inspectors to investigate firearms trafficking at the Mexican border
· $20 million for the DHS’ Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center to better coordinate investigations among federal, state and local law enforcement;
· $10 million for DHS’ Office of International Affairs and the undersecretary for management to oversee implementation of the Merida Initiative and to increase its staffing at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
