Five Department of War personnel have been assigned to the Las Cruces Office of the District of New Mexico, according to an announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. The group includes three Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) and two Senior Paralegal Specialists, who will work under the supervision of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The SAUSAs are set to focus on prosecuting federal crimes that occur along New Mexico’s section of the U.S./Mexico border. These offenses include immigration violations, narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses, and human smuggling.
“This assignment strengthens the District of New Mexico’s partnership with the U.S. Military and supports ongoing national efforts to deploy additional Department of War and Department of Justice personnel to the southern border. It also represents an important step toward the administration’s stated objective of achieving 100 percent operational control of the southern border by increasing prosecutorial capacity in a key border district,” said Ellison.
Officials noted that public safety and maintaining a secure border remain top priorities for the district. Recent enforcement efforts at both the border and within New Mexico have led to arrests involving individuals engaged in unlawful activity or those with serious criminal backgrounds, including cases related to human trafficking, sexual assault, and violence against children.
The District of New Mexico encompasses 33 counties and shares 180 miles of international border with Mexico. Prosecutors from Albuquerque and Las Cruces collaborate closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies on immigration-related cases as well as other federal crimes.
