TWENTY-FIVE FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TO BE ADDED TO U.S./MEXICO BORDER DISTRICTS

WASHINGTON - The United States Departments of Justice and Homeland
Security announced today additional resources to enhance the
enforcement of immigration laws and border security along the Southwest border.

The Department of Justice will add 20 Assistant United States
Attorneys (AUSAs) to the five federal law enforcement districts along
the border: the Southern District of Texas, the Western District of
Texas, the District of Arizona, the District of New Mexico and the
Southern District of California.

These 20 AUSAs will prosecute only immigration-related offences,
including alien smuggling, entering the United States without
inspection, illegal re-entry, possession of firearms as an alien,
illegal employment of undocumented aliens, human trafficking and
document fraud. The additional resources will be funded by a $2
million supplemental appropriation that was requested by the
President and approved by Congress. The hiring process will begin immediately.

The Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task
Force (OCDETF) Program will provide funding for five new AUSAs - one
in each of the federal districts along the border - to prosecute drug
trafficking organizations responsible for smuggling illegal narcotics
across the Southwest border.

In addition to the 25 new prosecutors, in the coming months the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will also identify several
attorneys who will be designated as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys
to prosecute immigration offenses along the Southwest border.

"As a nation of laws, it is important that those who cross our
borders illegally or smuggle drugs are prosecuted swiftly and
fairly," said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. "These new
prosecutors will help ensure that our immigration and drug laws are
aggressively enforced."

"We applaud the Attorney General for dedicating these additional
resources to help prosecute those criminals and smugglers that create
violence along our border and present risks to those living and
working in our border communities," said Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff. "DHS will also dedicate additional lawyers to
assist U.S. Attorneys and ensure that our nation's laws are enforced."

Including the additional prosecutors, the number of AUSAs in the
Southwest border districts has increased 29 percent since 2000, to a
total of 561. In the same time frame, the Department of Justice's
immigration prosecutions have increased by approximately 40 percent.
(About 30 percent of all new criminal cases are for
immigration-related crimes, making immigration cases the largest
category of cases filed by the United States Attorneys' Offices.) In
2005, over 95 percent of immigration prosecutions resulted in
convictions, with approximately 85 percent of convicted defendants
serving time in prison.

From fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 2005, the United States
Attorney's Offices in districts along the U.S./Mexico border have
seen a 78 percent increase in the number of investigations initiated
through OCDETF against sophisticated drug trafficking organizations.