Stronger Law Enforcement Pledged on Both Sides of U.S.-Mexico Border

(Gila River Indian Community, Ariz. - Sept. 9, 2005) – New efforts to coordinate and strengthen law enforcement on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border were announced today at a press conference culminating the 2005 Attorneys General Border Conference held here this week.

Agreements include increased sharing of information in prosecuting human trafficking, auto theft and drug sales, as well as the apprehension of fugitives. Steps also include the expansion of a Mexican pilot program, known as Project Oasis, which targets human smugglers on Mexico’s side of the border.  The program will be expanded to include the Arizona-Sonora region in an effort to reduce human smuggling and the violence surrounding this crime.

"I'm encouraged by our unanimous commitment to work more closely together," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. "Greater communication and coordination among law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border will enable us to do our work more effectively." 

“The Attorneys General Border Conference has provided us the opportunity to exchange experiences and information regarding common issues,” said Luis Carlos Treviño Berchelmann, Attorney General for Nuevo Leon, Mexico. “This gathering has brought us closer to reaching the best solutions to our mutual problems.”

A Statement of Consensus, reflecting agreement among the 10 Border States in the two nations represented at the conference, calls for U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials to increase coordination in several key areas, including:

  • Tracking and arresting human smugglers
  • Auto theft investigation
  • Methamphetamine production and smuggling
  • Recovery of children taken in cross-border abductions
  • Identity theft
  • Violence against women in the border region
  • Fraud directed at immigrants
  • Apprehending fugitives fleeing justice on both sides of the border