[House Hearing, 111 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
COMBATING BORDER VIOLENCE: THE ROLE OF INTERAGENCY COORDINATION IN
INVESTIGATIONS
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER,
MARITIME, AND GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 16, 2009
__________
Serial No. 111-29
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
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Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi, Chairman
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California PETER T. KING, New York
JANE HARMAN, California LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas
PETER A. DeFAZIO, Oregon MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California
Columbia MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
ZOE LOFGREN, California MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
CHRISTOPHER P. CARNEY, Pennsylvania PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia
YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York CANDICE S. MILLER, Mississippi
LAURA RICHARDSON, California PETE OLSON, Texas
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona ANH ``JOSEPH'' CAO, Louisiana
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico STEVE AUSTRIA, Ohio
BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey
EMMANUEL CLEAVER, Missouri
AL GREEN, Texas
JAMES A. HIMES, Connecticut
MARY JO KILROY, Ohio
ERIE J.J. MASSA, New York
DINA TITUS, Nevada
VACANCY
I. Lanier Avant, Staff Director
Rosaline Cohen, Chief Counsel
Michael Twinchek, Chief Clerk
Robert O'Conner, Minority Staff Director
______
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER, MARTIME, AND GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM
LORETTA SANCHEZ, California, Chairwoman
JANE HARMAN, California MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana
ZOE LOFGREN, California MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida
HENRY CUELLAR, Texas MIKE ROGERS, Alabama
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona CANDICE S. MILLER, Michichgan
BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey PETER T. KING, New York (Ex
AL GREEN, Texas Officio)
ERIC J.J. MASSA, New York
BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex
Officio)
Alison Northop, Staff Director
Denise Krepp Counsel
Carla Zamudio-Dolan, Clerk
Mandy Bowers Minority Subcommittee Lead
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
STATEMENTS
The Honorable Loretta Sanchez, a Representative in Congress from
the State of California, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.................. 1
The Honorable Mike Rogers, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Alabama, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Border,
Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.......................... 32
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress,
and Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security................... 4
The Honorable Al Green, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Texas................................................. 35
The Honorable Ann Kirkpatrick, a Representative in Congress from
the State of Arizona........................................... 26
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Texas........................................ 40
The Honorable Zoe Lofgren, a Representative in Congress from the
State of California............................................ 34
The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress
from the State of Texas........................................ 27
Witnesses
Mr. Kumar Kibble, deputy Director, Office of Investigations,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland
Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 6
Prepared Statement............................................. 8
Mr. Bill McMahon, Deputy Assistant Director, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Department of Justice:
Oral Statement................................................. 23
Mr. Anthony Placido, Assistant Administrator for Intelligence,
Drug
Enforcement Administration:
Oral Statement................................................. 12
Joint Prepared Statement....................................... 14
For the Record
The Honorable Mark Souder, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Indiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Border,
Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism:
Prepared Opening Statement..................................... 3
Questions and Responses:
Responses from Kumar Kibble.................................... 43
Responses from Anthony Placido................................. 48
COMBATING BORDER VIOLENCE: THE ROLE
OF INTERAGENCY COORDINATION IN INVESTIGATIONS
----------
Thursday, July 16, 2009
U.S. House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Border, Maritime,
and Global Counterterrorism,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:09 a.m., in
Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Loretta Sanchez
[chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Sanchez, Thompson, Lofgren,
Jackson Lee, Cuellar, Kirkpatrick, Green, McCaul, and Rogers.
Ms. Sanchez. [Presiding.] The subcommittee will come to
order.
The subcommittee will come to order. The Subcommittee on
Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism is meeting today
to receive testimony on ``Combating Border Violence: The Role
of Interagency Coordination in Investigations.''
Good morning, everybody.
I want to thank our panel of witnesses for being here
today. And I know that my ranking member will not be here
today, because he has a markup in another committee, I believe.
And so, Mr. McCaul, we thank you for being here and making this
a bipartisan hearing. We appreciate that.
Today's hearing is crucial to securing our borders and
further reducing the violence in Mexico that has resulted in
over 6,200 drug-related deaths just in this past year. The
weapons used in the drug violence in Mexico largely come from
the United States, as does the demand for drugs that pays for
those weapons.
This hearing is, I think, a timely opportunity to discuss
the growing security problem and the violence happening at the
border.
And on a side note, this is the first time that the Drug
Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives have testified alongside our
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in this subcommittee
since I have been the chairwoman. So, that is already
cooperation right there. Thank you.
Thank you all for being here.
The hearing comes after two major announcements by your
respective agencies. Recently, ICE renewed outstanding
memoranda of understanding, or MOUs, with both the ATF and the
DEA to better coordinate and investigate the gun and drug
related cases. These agreements come after much negotiation and
hard work by both the Department of Homeland Security and the
Department of Justice.
And I want to salute both Secretary Napolitano and our
Attorney General Holder for negotiating these agreements within
the first 6 months of this administration. I know they worked
very, very hard at it, and I am sure you were all involved.
It is important to note that some of these memoranda of
understanding, these MOUs, had not been updated since the
1970s. And as we know, the drug and drug cartel and how they
work has become so much more sophisticated in the last almost--
over 35 years.
The updated ICE and DEA agreements recognized inherent
expertise that the Department of Homeland Security has in
combating large smuggling rings and in investigating these
rings internationally and domestically, both.
Further, the agreements will allow ICE to fully participate
in DEA's Organized Crime Drug Enhancement Task Force Fusion
Centers, which have been critical resources in this whole issue
of drug related cartel and information.
Also, as the largest investigative arm in the Department of
Homeland Security, ICE has the authority to investigate the
unlawful importation and exportation of weapons and firearms
and drugs into the United States. A renewed agreement between
ICE and ATF is crucial, given that ATF has responsibility for
investigating domestic weapons violations.
And further, the ATF has the comprehensive e-Trace
database, which has been really the most incredible resource
for us when we are trying to see the purchase and trace some of
these firearms that have ended up in Mexico.
Information sharing between the three agencies which are
responsible for all the investigations of drug and weapons
violations at the border is really central to our southwest
border strategy. And in fact, that is why we are having this
hearing, to make sure that you all are cooperating, talking to
each other, enhancing what we really consider is a critical
process.
In the recent reports from the GAO office, before the MOUs
were announced, of course, they had concerns about the types of
communication and coordination, or lack of, that were happening
between you all.
One example was the widely reported situation where an ICE
agent unknowingly conducted surveillance on an ATF agent, who
was pursuing a suspected trafficker. So, we want to avoid those
situations.
We want to know who the good guys are and who the bad guys
are, and want you all working together, because, quite frankly,
we have limited resources--very scarce resources with respect
to trying to do some of this. And these are very important
issues.
So, I am very optimistic that we are going to move forward,
and move forward in a very positive way with the relationship
between your respective agencies. I am hopeful that the
agreements will work out, and that any technical issues, or
what have you, we can manage over time.
And I look forward to your testimony and to the answers to
the questions that our subcommittee members will have.
I will yield to Mr. McCaul, in case his side has an opening
statement.
Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Madam Chair. I asked to substitute
in at the last minute here, so I appreciate----
Ms. Sanchez. You are a pretty good substitute. We will take
you.
[Laughter.]
Mr. McCaul. --your yielding to me.
I would like to, first of all, enter into the record--
request that Mr. Souder's opening statement in its entirety be
entered into the record.
Ms. Sanchez. So be it.
[The statement of Mr. Souder follows:]
For the Record
Prepared Opening Statement of the Honorable Mark E. Souder, a
Representative in Congress from the State of Indiana, and Ranking
Member, Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism
Thank you Madam Chair. Four months ago this Subcommittee held a
hearing on border violence that provided some valuable insight into DHS
capabilities and strategies for the growing violence and tension along
the Southwest border. Mr. Kibble, welcome back.
Since that time, the Federal government, especially the agencies
represented here today, have deployed hundreds of additional personnel
to the border, sought ways to increase cooperation and intelligence
sharing, and enhanced partnerships with the Mexican government.
While good work is being done, several cases of Mexican cartel
violence this week provide a terrible reminder of the viciousness of
the cartels and the lengths they will go to maintain their smuggling
operations. Last Saturday, six different attacks were carried out
against the police and another officer was killed on Monday during an
attack on their convoy. Two days ago, Mexico woke up to 12 bodies of
tortured and slain police officers.
In March, a Special Agent from the DEA in El Paso testified before
Congress that Mexican drug traffickers earn between $8 billion and $24
billion annually. In order to break down these criminal networks,
secure our borders, prevent violence from spilling over, and assist our
Mexican counterparts, there must be coordination between agencies, with
state and local law enforcement, and with foreign partners.
In front of us today, we have three witnesses representing a
combined investigative force of over 13,000 special agents. This
hearing is an important opportunity to hear how they are working
together, what impact the new MOUs will have on the agents in the
field, and what progress is being made to compromise the drug
trafficking organizations and close down their smuggling organizations.
I would like to apologize up front that I will likely have to leave
early to attend a markup in another Committee on the health care
legislation. In case I may not have time to ask questions of the
witnesses, there are a few issues that I want to put on the record now
that need to be addressed:
1. I think both of the new MOUs are steps in the right
direction and it will be several months and possibly a year to
see if they are having the intended impact in the field.
However, I am extremely concerned about a Notice that was
circulated by DEA in April effectively ending all ICE
counternarcotics investigations in the Caribbean. According to
the Notice, something very significant happened between the two
agencies in that area resulting in DEA deciding not to allow
any more ICE agents. I want to know what happened, that status
of the Notice, and if the new MOU provides a sufficient
framework to address these issues before such a drastic step is
taken that could have compromised many investigations.
2. Information sharing and coordination are essential for the
agencies to work together. As I look at a partial list of all
of the different fusion centers, task forces, and initiatives
between involving just these three agencies, I wonder if we are
running the risk of duplicating efforts or going back to pre-9/
11 stove-piping. It is important for the witnesses to address
how these entities work together and not in a vacuum.
Mr. McCaul. And just a few points that he makes in his
opening statement that I want to bring out as well is, while
good work is being done, several cases of Mexican cartel
violence this week provided a terrible reminder of the
viciousness of the cartels and the lengths they will go to
maintain their smuggling operations.
Last Saturday, six different attacks were carried out
against the police, and another officer was killed on Monday
during an attack on their convoy.
Two days ago, Mexico woke up to 12 bodies of tortured and
slain police officers.
In March, a special agent from the DEA in El Paso testified
before Congress that Mexican drug traffickers earn between $8
billion and $24 billion annually.
In order to break down these criminal networks, secure our
borders and prevent violence from spilling over, and assist our
counterparts, there must be coordination between these agencies
and state and local law enforcement, and with our foreign
partners.
In front of us today we have these three witnesses
representing a combined investigative force of over 13,000
special agents.
And on a personal note, I had the opportunity to visit EPIC
a couple of months ago and see the great work that they are
doing there. As we looked across the river to Juarez, which
arguably--I know the violence has gone down, thank God. But at
the time, arguably, it was probably the most violent city in
Latin America, where we have police officers being assassinated
every 2 days, every 48 hours.
So, this is a very, very important mission. I know with all
the debate going on in the Congress over energy and health care
right now, this is one of those issues that maybe is taking a
back seat. But I think it is still, in my view, one of the most
important issues that we have in this nation. It does, after
all, involve our national security.
And with that, Madam Chair, I will yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. I thank the substituting ranking member, Mr.
McCaul, from Texas.
I would ask our full committee chairman, Mr. Thompson, if
he would have an opening statement?
Mr. Thompson. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Sanchez. Well, then, I will recognize you. How is that,
Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Thompson. All right.
Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. And I would like to
thank you for convening this important hearing.
I would also like to thank our witnesses for being here
today, to testify about how their agencies are fighting the
narcotics and weapons trade that fuels violence along the U.S.-
Mexico border.
These statistics, however, are very grim. Drug-related
deaths have more than doubled in the past 2 years. Data on arms
seized in Mexico show a growing number of increasingly lethal
weapons being seized.
For too long, this important fight has been hampered by
turf battles and a lack of cooperation among fellow agencies
responsible for keeping drugs and guns from crossing the border
illegally. Memorandums of understanding, which were supposed to
foster cooperation among agencies in such investigations, were
not updated for years--and in some instances, decades.
Agencies were unwilling to depart from the old ways of
doing things, so efforts to update the agreements remained in
limbo, even after the Department of Homeland Security was
created. As a result, there was confusion about roles and
responsibilities, and personnel that could have assisted in
some of these cases were unable to do so, because of outdated
constraints.
In short, Madam Chair, narcotics and weapons investigations
were simply not as effective as they could have been.
Recently, however, the Obama administration has taken
significant steps to address the problems. Just last month, ICE
and Customs Enforcement signed new interagency agreements with
the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. These agreements were
intended to better coordinate narcotics and weapons
investigations, and provide additional resources to fight
violence along the border.
In particular, the ICE-DEA agreement allows for an
unlimited number of ICE agents to be what is referred to as
cross-designated to investigate drug cases with a nexus to the
border. This change is long overdue and will put ICE's 6,000-
plus agents and DHS's sizable presence at our nation's border
to better use.
It is important to note that MOUs are not a panacea for the
coordination challenges faced by the agencies. Years of
operational practice cannot be changed overnight with the
stroke of a pen. Instead, it will take commitment--from the
secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general on down
to the agents in the field--to make these agreements work.
The American people, who continue to be concerned about
possible spillover of border violence, expect no less. And
certainly, Congress expects no less.
I can assure you that this committee will monitor
implementation of the MOUs closely and do everything possible
to make certain that they are effective.
I hope to hear, however, from our witnesses about that
commitment to these agreements and to ensuring a unified
federal law enforcement response to drug and weapons
trafficking across America's borders.
Again, thank you, witnesses, for being here.
And again, Madam Chair, thank you for convening this
hearing, and I yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, chairman, for being here today.
Other members of the subcommittee are reminded that under
the committee rules, opening statements may be submitted for
the record.
And so, now we welcome the panel of witnesses.
Our first witness, Mr. Kumar Kibble, is deputy director of
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of
Investigations. In that capacity, he serves as the chief
operating officer for the largest investigative arm of the
Department of Homeland Security.
He is also responsible for policy, planning, management and
operations aimed at countering transnational, national security
and public safety threats arising from illicit travel, trade
and finance. Mr. Kibble began his federal law enforcement
career as a special agent with the United States Customs
Service in Los Angeles, California.
Welcome.
And our second--I am going to go through the bios, and then
we will go to our witnesses.
Our second witness, Mr. Anthony Placido--welcome--leads the
Drug Enforcement Administration's intelligence program. His
responsibilities include serving as senior officer for the
United States' intelligence community and providing executive
leadership for the headquarters based Intelligence Division,
the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Fusion Center, and the El
Paso Intelligence Center.
He is also responsible for information sharing and exchange
protocols. And Mr. Placido manages a budget of over $100
million and develops policy for a staff of 1,300 people. He
began his law enforcement career in 1979, with the U.S. Customs
Service, and joined DEA the following year.
And our third witness, Mr. William McMahon, is deputy
assistant director for the Office of Field Operations at the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or the
ATF--long title there. In this position, he oversees the day-
to-day operations of the seven westernmost ATF field divisions,
as well as the bureau's International Affairs Office.
Previously, he served as a special agent in charge of ATF's
New York field division. And so, he began his career with the
ATF in 1987 as a special agent in New York City.
So, without objection, we are going to put your written
testimony into the record. And I will ask you to summarize what
you have written to us, and anything else you think we need to
know, in 5 minutes apiece or under.
So, we will start with Mr. Kibble. Welcome back again.
STATEMENT OF KUMAR KIBBLE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF
INVESTIGATIONS, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT
OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Kibble. Thank you, Chairwoman Sanchez, Chairman
Thompson, distinguished members of this subcommittee.
On behalf of Secretary Napolitano and Assistant Secretary
Morton, thank you for the opportunity to discuss ICE's role in
combating border violence through interagency coordination. We
work closely with our foreign and domestic law enforcement
partners to conduct multiagency investigations, enabled by
robust domestic and cross-border coordination and information
sharing.
ICE has the largest force of investigators in the
Department of Homeland Security. More than 6,500 ICE agents
detect, disrupt and dismantle cross-border criminal networks
engaged in the smuggling of people, narcotics, bulk cash and
weapons across our borders.
ICE's efforts, along with the broader U.S. government
response to Mexican drug cartel violence, require effective
operational collaboration and expanded information sharing with
our domestic partners and the government of Mexico. ICE
facilitates these objectives through unique initiatives, such
as Operations Armas Cruzadas and Firewall, the Border
Enforcement Security Task Forces and the Law Enforcement
Information Sharing Service.
We also partner with federal, state and local law
enforcement partners in national and regional deconfliction and
coordination centers. And just last month, we renegotiated the
formal interagency agreements with both DEA and the ATF to
facilitate even closer coordination and expanded information
sharing.
ICE attache personnel are working closely with their
Mexican counterparts to build a specialized, vetted
investigative unit consisting of Mexican prosecutors and law
enforcement personnel. This information sharing platform will
facilitate exchange of weapons related leads for coordinated
investigation of U.S. leads by U.S. agencies and Mexican leads
by Mexican agencies.
ICE and our sister agency, CBP, have stepped up our efforts
to interdict southbound weapons smuggling. ICE has intensively
deployed resources for Armas Cruzadas, this collaborative
effort with the Mexican government, to identify, disrupt and
dismantle the criminal networks that move these arms across our
border.
Since its inception, Armas Cruzadas has resulted in the
seizure of 1,600 weapons, more than $6.4 million and over
180,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as the arrest of almost
400 individuals on criminal charges, resulting in 124
indictments and 74 convictions.
A recent case out of El Paso, Texas, demonstrates the
significant impact of our proactive efforts at penetrating
Mexican weapons trafficking networks. A joint investigation
between ICE, ATF and the El Paso Police Department led to the
indictment of four individuals attempting to purchase and
illegally export weapons and ammunition out of the United
States.
The weapons they attempted to purchase included over 300
AR-15 rifles, 300 .223-caliber rifles, 10 Barrett .50-caliber
sniper rifles, two 40-millimeter grenade machine guns and 20
handguns with silencers, along with a large amount of
ammunition, with a total street value of more than half-a-
million dollars.
In addition to addressing weapons smuggling, ICE partners
with CBP to combat the illegal movement of cash across the
southwest border. ICE's Operation Firewall counters bulk cash
smuggling through capacity-building and close operational
collaboration with foreign partners, such as Mexico. Since its
inception, Firewall has resulted in 475 arrests and the seizure
of more than $210 million, including over $65 million seized
overseas.
The Border Enforcement Security Task Force is a law
enforcement model which recognizes that confronting the
multifaceted threat of border violence requires sharing
resources, information and expertise. The 14 BESTs serve as a
platform from which interagency and international partners can
work together to address cross-border crime.
ICE, with the help of our partners, has cracked down on
arms trafficking, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling and
narcotics smuggling organizations. The BESTs, since 2005, have
reported more than 4,000 criminal arrests, seized over 200,000
pounds of narcotics, over 2,500 weapons and more than 370,000
rounds of ammunition, along with over $26 million in U.S.
currency and monetary instruments.
ICE complements this effort through our Law Enforcement
Information Service by expanding our information sharing to our
state and local partners, as well as other initiatives, such as
the Border Violence Intelligence Cell and the Weapons Virtual
Task Force. The Law Enforcement Information Sharing Service
provides approximately 250 federal, state and local agencies
with access to more than 2.5 million ICE records related to our
investigations. And approximately 65 to 70 of these state and
local agencies are located along the southwest border.
Since January of this year, we have had more than 20,000
queries of information through that network.
In conclusion, coordination and information sharing
initiatives I discussed today portray the extensive cooperation
that we are advancing and already underway with our
counterparts.
I would like to thank the subcommittee for its continued
support of ICE and our law enforcement mission. And I would be
pleased to answer any questions you may have.
[The statement of Mr. Kibble follows:]
Prepared Statement of Kumar C. Kibble
INTRODUCTION
Chairwoman Sanchez, Ranking Member Souder, and distinguished
Members of the Subcommittee:
On behalf of Secretary Napolitano and Assistant Secretary Morton,
thank you for the opportunity to discuss U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement's (ICE) role in combating border violence through robust
interagency coordination. First and foremost, ICE uses its broad
federal authorities to conduct intelligence-driven investigations
through collaboration with the intelligence community, and other
federal, state, local and foreign partners. These multi-agency
investigations are enabled by robust, cross-border coordination and
information sharing. ICE has the largest force of investigators in the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and we protect our borders--
north and south--by investigating groups who exploit weaknesses in our
legitimate trade, travel, and financial systems. More than 6,500 ICE
special agents detect, disrupt, and dismantle cross-border criminal
networks engaged in the smuggling of people, narcotics, bulk cash, and
weapons across our borders. ICE is focused on countering the illicit
activities that occur along our shared border with Mexico.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOUTHWEST BORDER INITIATIVES
The public announcement of the Administration's major Southwest
Border (SWB) Initiative on March 24th--and the details outlined by the
Secretary on April 15--called for strategic redeployments of DHS
personnel totaling more than 360 additional officers and agents. ICE
doubled assignments to ICE Border Enforcement Security Task Forces
(BESTs); tripled the number of intelligence analysts working at the
border; and quadrupled the number of agents designated as Border
Liaison Officers to work in close cooperation with Mexican law
enforcement. Within Mexico, ICE increased its investigative workforce
by 50 percent.
On June 5, Secretary Napolitano, Attorney General Holder, and
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Kerlikowske
released the 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy,
which details the Administration's collective approach to stem the flow
of illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the SWB, and reduce
associated crime and violence in the region.
ICE's efforts, along with the broader U.S. Government response to
Mexican drug cartel violence, require effective operational
collaboration and expanded information sharing with the Government of
Mexico (GoM), and domestic and other foreign law enforcement agencies.
ICE facilitates these objectives through unique initiatives such as
Operations Armas Cruzadas and Firewall, the Border Enforcement Security
Task Forces or BESTs, the Law Enforcement Information Sharing Service
(LEISS) and the Border Enforcement Coordination Cell (BECC). We also
partner with Federal, state and local law enforcement partners,
including the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), in
national and regional deconfliction and coordination centers. And just
last month, we re-negotiated formal interagency agreements with the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to facilitate even closer
coordination and expanded information sharing.
COLLABORATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO
Cooperation among ICE and its domestic partners is a critical piece
to effective law enforcement along the Southwest Border. Of equal
import, however, is ICE's coordination with its Mexican counterparts.
Indeed, earlier this year, President Calderon of Mexico identified the
illegal flow of weapons from the United States as one of the biggest
security threats to his country. On April 1, Secretary Napolitano
traveled to Cuernavaca, Mexico with Attorney General Holder to attend a
joint U.S.-Mexican conference on arms trafficking. At the conference,
the Secretary and Attorney General discussed with their counterparts,
including the Attorney General of Mexico, future joint efforts to
prevent firearms from being smuggled from the United States into
Mexico. Interagency collaboration with the Mexican government is a part
of a broader theme of co-responsibility that Attorney General Holder
and Secretary Napolitano agree is central to our strategic effort to
secure the SWB. Stopping the flow of firearms and bulk cash into Mexico
is an important component of the larger strategy to secure our borders
from the criminal organizations that use those resources to traffic
contraband and perpetrate violence.
Operation Armas Cruzadas. ICE and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) have stepped up their efforts to interdict southbound
weapons smuggling, pursuant to DHS authority to enforce export
provisions of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) as specifically
designated within 22 C.F.R.--127.4 of the International Traffic in Arms
Regulations (ITAR) and to prevent smuggling of weapons in violation of
18 U.S.C. 554. ICE has intensively deployed resources for Operation
Armas Cruzadas, which is a comprehensive, collaborative effort with the
GoM to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the criminal networks that
illicitly transport arms across the border. Under Operation Armas
Cruzadas, ICE has implemented numerous activities that promote an
intelligence-driven, systematic approach to arms trafficking
investigations. Since its inception in June 2008, Operation Armas
Cruzadas has resulted in the seizure of 1,600 weapons, more than $6.4
million, and 182,668 rounds of ammunition, and the arrests of 395
individuals on criminal charges, resulting in 124 criminal indictments
and 74 convictions.
A recent case out of El Paso, Texas, demonstrates the significant
impact of our proactive efforts at penetrating Mexican weapons
trafficking networks. A joint investigation between ICE, ATF, and the
El Paso Police Department led to the indictment of four individuals
attempting to purchase and illegally export weapons and ammunition out
of the United States. The weapons they attempted to purchase and
smuggle included 300 AR-15/AR-16 rifles, 300 short-barrel .223 rifles,
10 Barrett .50 caliber rifles, two 40 millimeter grenade machine guns,
20 handguns with silencers and a large amount of ammunition. The
firearms would have had a total street value of over $500,000.
Operation Firewall. In addition to addressing weapons smuggling,
ICE partners with CBP to combat the illegal movement of cash across the
SWB. One reason drug cartels pose such a dangerous threat is their
extensive monetary resources. The United States must interrupt that
illegal flow of money. ICE's Operation Firewall counters bulk cash
smuggling through capacity building and close operational collaboration
with foreign partners such as Mexico. On the first day of operations in
2005, at the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City,
Mexican authorities seized $7.8 million en route to Cali, Colombia
concealed inside deep fryers, rotisseries and voltage regulators. Other
notable seizures include $7.3 million seized inside rolls of fabric and
plastic and $4.7 million concealed inside air conditioning equipment
and metal piping destined for Colombia. Since its inception, Operation
Firewall has resulted in 475 arrests and the seizure of over $210
million, including over $65 million seized overseas.
COORDINATION OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC INTERAGENCY
OPERATIONS
Vetted Investigative Units. ICE Attache personnel are working
closely with their Mexican counterparts to build a specialized, vetted
investigative unit (SIU) consisting of Mexican prosecutors and law
enforcement personnel. This SIU will focus on bilateral weapons
smuggling investigations and provide an immediate investigative
response to weapons seizures within Mexico. These SIU investigative
responses will address an information requirement gap in tracing
weapons and exploiting investigative leads. With the establishment of
the SIU, weapon serial numbers will be more consistently obtained and
traced within ATF's e-Trace database prior to the weapons being turned
over to the Mexican military. More comprehensive weapons trace data
will facilitate better identification of U.S. sources of weapons. The
SIU will better probe the seizures through interviews, telephone data/
record analysis and other investigative tools, with the goal of
identifying cross-border weapons smuggling networks. Overall, such a
robust information-sharing platform will facilitate exchange of leads
for coordinated investigation of U.S. leads by U.S. agencies, and
Mexican leads by GoM agencies.
Border Enforcement Security Task Force. More than a DHS program,
the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) is a law enforcement
model which recognizes that confronting the multifaceted threat of
border violence requires sharing resources, information, and expertise.
BESTs serve as a platform from which interagency--and international--
partners can work together to address cross-border crime. The BESTs
operating on our land borders and in major maritime port cities
incorporate personnel from ICE, CBP, DEA, ATF, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and respective U.S.
Attorney's Offices, along with other key federal, state, local, tribal,
and foreign law enforcement agencies. The Mexican Secretaria de
Seguridad Publica (SSP) currently participates in BESTs, and the GoM
has agreed to provide representatives to every BEST team on the SWB.
Additionally, other GoM agencies and foreign partners are negotiating
with ICE to expand their participation in the BESTs, thus enhancing the
international scope and participation of the initiative. Since the SWB
announcement on March 24, ICE has established two new BESTs in Las
Cruces and Deming, New Mexico, resulting in a total of 15 BESTs
covering high-threat smuggling corridors. The BEST model has been very
successful. ICE, with the help of our partners, has cracked down on
arms trafficking, human smuggling, bulk cash smuggling and narcotics
smuggling organizations. These efforts have disrupted cartel operations
in both the United States and Mexico. Since July 2005, the efforts of
BEST teams, working in conjunction with the Department of Justice (DOJ)
and other law enforcement agencies, have been responsible for 4,240
criminal arrests, 3,531 administrative arrests, 1,901 indictments and
1,292 convictions. In addition, BESTs have seized approximately 10,348
pounds of cocaine, 187,843 pounds of marijuana, 829 pounds of
methamphetamine, 103 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, 1,257 pounds of
ecstasy, 255 pounds of heroin, 97 pounds of hashish, 22 pounds of
opium, 2,580 weapons, 870 vehicles, seven properties and $26.3 million
in U.S. currency and monetary instruments.
Just a few of our successes include the El Paso BEST's discovery
and repatriation of one of Mexico's top ten most wanted fugitives; the
Laredo BEST's arrest of a weapons trafficker supplying cartels with
assault rifles used to murder Mexican police officer Navarro Rincon and
others; the Laredo BEST's arrest of a member of the Mexican Mafia gang
in possession of approximately 897 pounds of smuggled marijuana after
he attempted to run over a Texas Department of Public Safety officer;
and the Los Angeles Seaport BEST's arrest of an arms trafficker and
seizure of 38 military style weapons.
Law Enforcement Information Sharing Service. ICE complements the
innovative operational coordination facilitated by the BESTs through
aggressively sharing information with an even broader array of federal,
state and local law enforcement agencies. The Law Enforcement
Information Sharing (LEIS) Service is a Web-based data exchange
platform designed to aid investigations by allowing DHS and other law
enforcement agencies to share pertinent case information, to the extent
permitted by law, more rapidly and extensively. Beginning in FY 2008,
the LEIS Service was deployed on a regional basis to law enforcement
consortiums at SWB locations within California and Arizona.
Additionally, the Service was expanded to DOJ's repository for shared
law enforcement information, OneDOJ. During the current fiscal year, we
are in the process of extending LEIS the Service to Texas, and
anticipate connecting to a law enforcement consortium in New Mexico, as
well as to national and international consortiums such as Interpol and
Europol.
LEIS currently provides approximately 250 federal, state, local,
and tribal law enforcement agencies access to more than 2.5 million
subject records related to persons of interest, including suspects in
child pornography, drug smuggling, immigration fraud, alien smuggling,
and other immigration and customs cases. Approximately 65--70 of those
agencies are located along the SWB. LEIS offers investigators a more
efficient, automated system for obtaining information and helps to more
quickly and appropriately identify relationships, patterns and
connections between individuals and organizations that may not be
immediately obvious. Since January 2009, the program has received
nearly 20,000 queries for information. The LEIS Service is compliant
with all existing privacy and security requirements as it relates to
the safeguarding of personal information and user authentication and
access.
Border Violence Intelligence Cell. The Border Violence Intelligence
Cell (BVIC) supports the national effort to combat weapons smuggling
and stem the surge in violence along the United States-Mexico Border.
This unit facilitates timely information sharing with state, tribal,
local, foreign, and other federal law enforcement agencies, and serves
as the focal point for analyzing all-source intelligence in support of
the BESTs and ICE Attache Mexico offices. Through the BVIC, the BESTs,
ICE Attache offices, and the U.S.-vetted GoM Arms Trafficking Group
exchange cross-border weapons-related intelligence through a virtual
intelligence network, creating a seamless investigation of the criminal
networks that span the SWB. The BVIC, in cooperation with the ATF
weapons desk at EPIC, serves as the central point for analyzing all-
source intelligence and trends in firearms smuggling. Since March 30,
2009, analysts working with the BESTs, in coordination with the BVIC,
have produced 213 intelligence reports, over 60 comprehensive target
folders, and 114 investigative leads relating to suspected weapons
traffickers operating along the SWB. Weapons Virtual Task Force. The
Weapons Virtual Task Force (WVTF) is a community of interest within the
Homeland Security Information Network, a secure, unclassified web-based
platform. The community was created to assist information exchange
between ICE and its Mexican law enforcement counterparts under the
Armas Cruzadas initiative. Using the WVTF, law enforcement on both
sides of the border can upload and share information pertinent to law
enforcement actions along the SWB. While currently in its infancy, it
is anticipated that the WVTF system will incorporate any GoM
enforcement action results or intelligence developed by Mexican law
enforcement related to Armas Cruzadas. The information will then be
available for ICE investigators and analysts to view and analyze. Last
month, ICE sent a team to Mexico to train Mexican law enforcement on
the use of the system. This training is a strong step toward a closer
relationship and better information exchange, and will continue as
additional users on both sides of the border are added.
FORMAL INTERAGENCY AGREEMENTS
The successes of the BESTs, as well as Operations Armas Cruzadas
and Firewall, illustrate how co-located taskforces and multi-agency
initiatives can stem the flow of cross-border criminal activity.
Interagency roles, responsibilities, and coordination are guided by
numerous statutes, presidential directives and formal, interagency
agreements. Given the extent of ICE authorities in enforcing the
nation's customs and immigration laws, ICE has cooperation agreements
with federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies in
order to more effectively leverage our combined resources. I would like
to highlight two of the more recent partnerships entered into by ICE.
These are the June 18, 2009, Interagency Cooperation Agreement between
ICE and DEA and the June 30, 2009, Memorandum of Understanding between
ICE and ATF.
Interagency Cooperation Agreement between ICE and DEA. Recognizing
the importance of implementing the recommendations made by the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its March 2009 report, on
June 18, 2009, ICE and DEA announced an Interagency Cooperation
Agreement Regarding Investigative Functions Related to the Controlled
Substances Act. The agreement addressed many of the recommendations
outlined in the GAO report. Specifically, the June 18, 2009, agreement
provides the following: (1) outlined a commitment by both ICE and DEA
to share information through mechanisms including the Special
Operations Division, the OCDETF Fusion Center and EPIC; (2) authorized
the ICE Assistant Secretary to select an unlimited number of ICE agents
for cross-designation by the Administrator of DEA; (3) delineated ICE
authority to investigate narcotics smuggling with a clearly articulable
nexus to the U.S. border, including related transportation and staging
activities within the United States; and (4) procedures for
deconfliction and operational coordination in both the domestic and
foreign counternarcotics environments. The agreement took immediate
effect and will be reviewed one year after its initial effective date.
In addition, after the one-year review, the agreement will be reviewed
thereafter every two years, or at any time, upon written request by
either party.
Memorandum of Understanding between ICE and ATF. ICE and ATF
recognize and respect each other's complementary authorities. When ICE
and ATF join forces through joint investigations or via the BEST teams,
both agencies bring complimentary authorities to any investigation. The
June 30, 2009, Memorandum of Understanding between ICE and ATF
established the clear roles that both agencies have over domestic and
international trafficking of firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons,
and munitions. The agreement recognized that both law enforcement
agencies are actively engaged in the fight against persons and criminal
organizations involved in violent crime and gun trafficking.
The agreement requires that ATF report to ICE any information
relating to attempted or planned violations of federal law within the
jurisdiction of ICE. The agreement imposes a reciprocal requirement
upon ICE to report to ATF any information relating to attempted or
planned violations of federal law within the jurisdiction of ATF. The
agencies also agree to coordinate information concerning firearms and
explosives investigations that involve each other's investigative
jurisdiction.
Moreover, ATF and ICE will invite each other's participation in any
investigations within the jurisdiction of the other agency. In
addition, the agreement sets forth important policies concerning the
shared use of human confidential sources of information and the control
of intelligence. The agencies agreed to coordinate efforts as they
relate to activities at Federal Firearms Licensees, Federal Explosives
Licensees, gun shows, international borders and Ports of Entry.
CONCLUSION
The coordination and information sharing initiatives I have
discussed today portray the extensive cooperation currently underway
between ICE and our counterparts in state and local governments, the
Federal Government, and the Government of Mexico. Taken together, all
of these initiatives represent a substantial advancement towards
operating in a truly complementary fashion, by harnessing each agency's
particular authorities and expertise more efficiently.
I would like to thank the Subcommittee for its continued support of
ICE and our law enforcement mission. I would be pleased to answer any
questions you may have.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you.
And now we will recognize for 5 minutes, Mr. Placido.
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY PLACIDO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
INTELLIGENCE, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
Mr. Placido. Thank you.
Chairman Sanchez, Chairman Thompson, distinguished members
of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to share the
perspectives of the Drug Enforcement Administration on
countering drug violence and the importance of interagency
coordination and cooperation.
The drug trade in Mexico has been rife with violence for
decades. However, intentionally gruesome drug-related violence,
kidnapping, torture and murder have remained at elevated levels
since President Calderon initiated his comprehensive program to
break the power and impunity of Mexico's drug cartels.
Drug-related killings in Mexico have escalated from
approximately 1,200 in 2006, to more than 6,200 in 2008, and
are on pace to exceed 7,000 this year.
In the past, the violence was largely confined to persons
engaged in the drug trade. But there has been a disturbing new
trend where the cartels are intentionally targeting Mexican
military and law enforcement officials.
Drug violence is not restricted to areas along our
southwest border. That is why the goal of the Merida Initiative
is to break the power and impunity of the cartels, rather than
to secure our nation's borders.
The problem we are facing includes the border, to be sure.
But it actually is much bigger than the border itself.
Just a few days ago, as was referenced previously, 15
Mexican federal police officers were abducted, tortured and
executed by enforcers associated with La Familia Michoacana
Cartel in what appears to be retaliation for performing their
official duties enforcing Mexican law. The attacks were not
conducted in geographic proximity to our border, but,
nonetheless, represent a potential threat to our national
security.
Systematic attacks against Mexican police and military
officials undermine respect for the rule of law and degrade
confidence in Mexican institutions by extension, causing
instability in Mexico and throughout the region.
Through the Merida Initiative and the generous support of
Congress, we are supporting President Calderon's valiant
efforts to break the power and impunity of these cartels and to
reduce the extent to which these transnational crime syndicates
engage in all types of lawlessness affecting the United States.
There is justifiable concern that the violence Mexico will
spill across our border and have an even more pronounced impact
on Americans. Mexican cities along our southwest border, such
as Juarez and Tijuana, have witnessed spectacular violence,
despite the fact that El Paso and San Diego are among the
safest cities in America.
The U.S. interagency has attempted to distinguish between
the criminal-on-criminal violence that has always been
associated with the Mexican drug trade, and the new phenomenon
of retaliatory violence against Mexican officials and
institutions.
Accordingly, as an interagency group, we have defined
spillover violence to entail deliberate attacks by the cartels
on U.S. government personnel, whether in the U.S. or Mexico,
innocent civilians in the United States, or U.S. government
facilities, including our embassies and consulates.
Based on this definition, we have not yet seen a
significant level of spillover violence. However, as a
government we must, and are, building contingency plans for the
worst-case scenario.
DEA enjoys a decades-long history of working in cooperation
with the Mexican government. DEA works closely with a number of
trusted Mexican counterparts, who have undergone a rigorous
vetting process to include robust background investigations and
polygraph examinations.
Working with our Mexican counterparts, DEA and the U.S.
interagency have taken the offensive against Mexico-based
cartels on their own turf and systematically sought to
identify, disrupt and dismantle these cartels, including their
U.S.-based cells. Project Reckoning and Operation Xcellerator
are recent examples of this U.S.-Mexico collaboration.
In addition to our ongoing investigations, interagency
coordination and cooperation are critical. DEA continues to
work in cooperation with our federal, state, local and foreign
counterparts to address the threats emanating from Mexico.
DEA's organizational attack strategy is an effort to
systematically dismantle the command and control of these
criminal syndicates. Key to this strategy is sharing of
information and coordinating with our counterparts through the
Special Operations Division, the OCDETF Fusion Center and the
El Paso Intelligence Center.
The recently signed interagency cooperation agreement
between DEA and ICE underscores the mutual understanding
between both agencies concerning the tremendous importance of
information sharing and investigative coordination. Both
Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Holder have made
clear that this agreement is the most efficient and effective
way to promote interagency coordination and cooperation.
The agreement addresses the concerns of both agencies
without requiring legislative action, and allows for the cross-
designation of an unlimited number of ICE agents to exercise
Title 21 investigative authority, and also strengthens
information sharing and coordination protocols. It also
requires ICE's full participation at EPIC, SOD and the OCDETF
Fusion Center.
We recognize that interagency and international
collaboration are fundamental. It is imperative that we sustain
the progress and that we support the actions by President
Calderon.
We must recognize that the violence we are witnessing
represents the acts of truly desperate, wounded, criminal
organizations. We remain committed to working with Mexico and
our U.S. counterparts to stem the flow of bulk cash and
weapons, while also working to sustain the disruption of drug
transportation routes north.
Chairman Sanchez, members of the committee, we appreciate
this opportunity, and I stand prepared to answer questions.
Thank you.
[The joint statement of Mr. Placido and Mr. McMahon
follows:]
Joint Prepared Statement of William McMahon
and
Anthony P. Placido
Chairwoman Sanchez, Ranking Member Souder, and Members of the
Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to
discuss the Department of Justice's (the Department) ongoing
initiatives and programs to promote coordination and collaboration
between investigative agencies regarding investigations of narcotics
and weapons along our borders.
The Mexican drug cartels pose a national security threat to Mexico
and an organized crime threat to the United States. Drug-related
violence, including kidnappings and increasingly gruesome murders, has
skyrocketed in recent years in Mexico, particularly near the border
with the United States. Mexican drug traffickers and their enforcers
are also engaging in other violent crimes, including kidnappings and
home invasion robberies--primarily in Mexico but also in U.S.
communities. Although violence has existed in Mexico over the years,
the bloodshed escalated to unprecedented levels as the cartels use
violence as a tool to undermine public support for the Mexican
Government's vigorous counter-drug efforts. Traffickers display the
bodies of their tortured victims to intimidate government officials and
the public alike.
A significant portion of this increase in violence actually
reflects progress by the governments of Mexico and the United States in
disrupting the activities of the drug cartels. After President Felipe
Calderón took office in 2006, the Government of Mexico, with
support from the United States, undertook a comprehensive program to
break the power of the narcotraffickers, making record seizures of
drugs, clandestine laboratories, and currency. Mexican law enforcement
agencies have arrested many high-level drug cartel members and the
Mexican authorities are extraditing them in record numbers to face
prosecution in the United States. This unprecedented pressure from the
Government of Mexico has led to the retaliatory violence directed at
Mexican law enforcement and the Mexican government as a whole. Also, as
the Department and our federal agency partners work with Mexican
authorities to disrupt and dismantle successive iterations of the most
powerful cartels, their successors have escalated the fighting among
themselves for control of the lucrative smuggling corridors along the
Southwest Border.
The violence in Mexico has direct and serious effects in the United
States. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center's (NDIC)
2009 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA), within the realm of drug
trafficking organizations (DTOs), Mexican organizations represent the
``greatest organized crime threat to the United States,'' with cocaine
being the leading drug threat. Mexican and Colombian DTOs generate,
remove, and launder between $18 billion and $39 billion in wholesale
drug proceeds annually, a large portion of which is believed to be
transported via the SWB. These proceeds, in turn further fuel the drug
trade and its attendant violence. Additionally, Mexican DTOs obtain
firearms, including handguns and rifles, from sources in the United
States for use in DTO operations on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico
border. These organizations and their violent paramilitary enforcement
groups rely on such firearms and ammunition to control lucrative drug
smuggling corridors along the border. We look forward to working in
collaboration with Mexican authorities to build their capacity to
assess all the weapons seized and provide better definition of arms
trafficking across our shared border.
I want to share with you the Department's strategy to work, in
cooperation with the Government of Mexico, to dismantle the Mexican
drug cartels systematically, which currently threaten the national
security of our Mexican neighbors, pose an organized crime threat to
the United States, and are responsible for the scourge of illicit drugs
and accompanying violence in both countries. Let me begin by
emphasizing the priority that this issue commands at the highest level
of the Department's leadership, including the Attorney General himself.
Most recently, on June 5th, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Attorney
General Holder, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary
Napolitano, and Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director
Kerlikowske released President Obama's National Southwest Border
Counternarcotics Strategy (Strategy), designed to stem the flow of
illegal drugs and their illicit proceeds across the Southwest Border
and to reduce associated crime and violence in the region.
This Strategy directs Federal agencies to increase coordination and
information sharing with State and local law enforcement agencies,
intensifies national efforts to interdict the southbound flow of
weapons and bulk currency, and calls for continued close collaboration
with the Government of Mexico in efforts against the drug cartels. The
Strategy is an important component of the Administration's national
drug control policy and complements the Administration's comprehensive
efforts to respond to threats along the border.
In his remarks on the Strategy, Attorney General Holder stated,
``Drug trafficking cartels spread violence and lawlessness throughout
our border region and reach into all of our communities, large and
small.'' He further noted, ``By focusing on increased cooperation
between the U.S. and Mexican governments as well as enhanced
communication within U.S. law enforcement agencies, the National
Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy we introduce today provides
an effective way forward that will crack down on cartels and make our
country safer.''
Another important component of the United States Government's
efforts to neutralize the powerful Mexican drug cartels is the Merida
Initiative, a partnership between the Government of Mexico and its
counterparts in the United States. The Administration's Merida
Initiative presents new opportunities for expert collaboration on many
fronts. With Merida funding provided by the Department of State and the
United States Agency for International Development, the Department
efforts to support the Administration's initiative include, but are not
limited to : (1) placing two experienced federal prosecutors in Mexico
to work with their counterparts in prosecutorial capacity-building; (2)
assigning a forensics expert in Mexico; (3) assisting Mexican law
enforcement and our interagency partners in strengthening and
developing vetted teams and task forces that can work with U.S. federal
law enforcement agencies to attack the cartels across the range of
their criminal conduct; (4) advancing fugitive apprehension with U.S.
law enforcement agencies and extradition with our Criminal Division
experts; (5) assisting Mexico in developing an assets management system
to deal with the assets seized and forfeited in criminal cases; (6)
assisting Mexican law enforcement and prosecutorial offices in
strengthening their internal integrity; (7) assisting Mexican law
enforcement officials and prosecutors in enhancing evidence collection,
preservation and admissibility; (8) supporting the Mexican National
Migration Institute efforts to develop biometric capabilities; and (9)
providing expert consultations on victim assistance and witness
protection issues. At the same time, as an operational matter, the
Department continues to work closely with Mexico as it addresses the
issue of cartel-related public corruption, including through
investigative assistance.
Overview of the Department of Justice's Mexico and Border Strategy
The Department's strategic approach--built on its proven track
record of dismantling transnational organized criminal groups, such as
the Mafia in the 1980s and 1990s--confronts the Mexican cartels as
criminal organizations, rather than simply responding to individual
acts of criminal violence. Pursued vigorously, and in coordination with
the efforts of other U.S. government agencies and with the full
cooperation of the Government of Mexico, this strategy can and will
neutralize the organizations causing the violence.
The Department's strategy to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the
Mexican drug cartels has five key elements and supports the National
Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy. First, the strategy employs
extensive and coordinated intelligence capabilities. The Department
pools information generated by our law enforcement agencies and
federal, state, tribal, and local government partners, and then uses
the product to promote operations in the United States and to assist
the efforts of the Mexican authorities to attack the cartels and the
corruption that facilitates their operations. Second, through
intelligence-based, prosecutor-led, multi-agency task forces that
leverage the strengths, resources, and expertise of the complete
spectrum of federal, state, tribal, local, and international
investigative and prosecutorial agencies, the Department focuses its
efforts on investigation, extradition, prosecution, and punishment of
key cartel leaders. As the Department has demonstrated in attacking
other major criminal enterprises, destroying the leadership and seizing
the financial infrastructure of the cartels undermine their very
existence. Third, the Department of Justice, in concerted efforts with
the Department of Homeland Security, pursues investigations and
prosecutions related to the trafficking of guns and the smuggling of
cash and contraband for drug-making facilities from the United States
into Mexico. Much of the violence and corruption in Mexico is fueled by
these resources that come from our side of the border. Fourth, the
Department uses traditional law enforcement approaches to address the
threats in the United States of cartel activity. These threats include
the widespread distribution of drugs on our streets and in our
neighborhoods and battles between members of rival cartels on American
soil. This type of activity was exemplified in Laredo, Texas from 2003
through most of 2006 when a rash of drug related assassinations
occurred between members of the Gulf and Sinaloa Cartels and culminated
with the arrest of a Gulf Cartel assassin squad in April of 2006 by
DEA-led operation assisted by state and local law enforcement, and
other federal agencies, to include the FBI, USMS, ATF, IRS and ICE.
These assassinations also resulted in injuries to innocent civilians
and the death of a 15 year old juvenile who was killed because he was
in the vehicle with his uncle, the assassins' intended target. This
component of the Department's strategy will inevitably include
investigations and prosecutions of U.S.-based gangs that forge working
relationships with the Mexican DTOs. Fifth, the Department prosecutes
criminals responsible for federal crimes involving trafficking,
smuggling, money laundering, kidnapping and violence. The ultimate
goals of these operations are to neutralize the cartels and bring the
criminals to justice.
The strengths of the Department's strategy are illustrated by the
tremendous successes of Operation Xcellerator and Project Reckoning in
the U.S. government's battle against the Mexican cartels. On February
25, 2009, Attorney General Holder announced the arrest of more than 750
individuals on narcotics-related charges under Operation Xcellerator, a
multi-agency, multi-national effort coordinated by the DEA-led Special
Operations Division (SOD) that began in May 2007 and targeted the
Sinaloa Cartel. This cartel is responsible for bringing tons of cocaine
into the United States through an extensive network of distribution
cells in the United States and Canada. Through Operation Xcellerator,
federal law enforcement agencies--along with law enforcement officials
from the governments of Mexico and Canada and state and local
authorities in the United States--delivered a significant blow to the
Sinaloa Cartel's operations in the United States. For example,
authorities seized over $61 million in U.S. currency, more than 12,000
kilograms of cocaine, more than 1,200 pounds of methamphetamine,
approximately 1.3 million Ecstasy pills, and other illegal drugs. Also
significant was the seizure of 191 firearms, 4 aircraft, and 3 maritime
vessels.
Similarly, the Department's Project Reckoning, announced in
September 2008, was a 15-month operation, also coordinated by SOD,
which severely damaged the Gulf Cartel. It was one of the largest and
most successful joint law enforcement efforts between the United States
and Mexico. Project Reckoning resulted in over 600 arrests in the U.S.
and Mexico, plus the seizure of nearly 20,000 kilos of cocaine, tens of
thousands of pounds of marijuana, thousands of pounds of
methamphetamine, hundreds of firearms and $76 million in currency.
Perhaps most importantly, Project Reckoning led to the indictment of a
triumvirate of Gulf Cartel leaders.
Operation Xcellerator and Project Reckoning applied the classic law
enforcement tools that the Department has successfully wielded against
other large and sophisticated criminal enterprises to target the
largest threats from the cartels. Neither would have been possible
without the development and effective sharing of tactical and strategic
intelligence between and among federal agency partners and the
Government of Mexico and its law enforcement and special military
components. They reflected multi-agency, bi-national efforts,
coordinated by SOD and led by prosecutors and investigators from the
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a program that
coordinates and channels elements of the federal government--including
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Marshals Service
(USMS), U.S. Attorney's Offices, and the Department's Criminal
Division, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs
and Border Protection (CBP), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In
all, more than 200 Federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement
agencies contributed to the success of Operation Xcellerator and
Project Reckoning. These multi-year investigations will result in
extraditions and federal prosecutions in numerous states by various
U.S. Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Narcotic and
Dangerous Drug Section.
We believe the Administration has the right strategy for stopping
the violence spawned by the cartels. But despite recent successes by
the Administration, we also recognize that there is much more work to
do. Drug trafficking organizations remain powerful and continue to
evolve and are determined to find new methods to bring illegal drugs
into the United States, while also sending cash and guns back to
Mexico. This smuggling pattern fuels the cycle of violence in Mexico
and is a threat to the United States. As a result, the Department is
working closely with our other federal partners, State, local, and
tribal officials, and the Government of Mexico to address these issues
and root out these criminal enterprises.
Intelligence-Based Targeting Is the Foundation for a Successful
Response
For more than a quarter-century, the principal law enforcement
agencies in the United States have recognized that the best way to
fight the most sophisticated and powerful criminal organizations is
through intelligence-based, prosecutor-led task forces that leverage
the strength, resources, and expertise of the complete spectrum of
federal, state, local, and international investigative and
prosecutorial agencies. It was this approach, for example, that fueled
the ground-breaking Mafia prosecutions in the United States and Italy
in the late 1980s and 1990s. The Department is applying these same
intelligence-driven tactics that broke the back of the Mob to fighting
the Mexican drug cartels.
The Department works through several programs to develop a full
range of strategic, operational, and tactical intelligence against the
Mexican cartels.
First, since 2003, the Department has worked with the drug
enforcement community to develop the Attorney General's Consolidated
Priority Organization Target (CPOT) list of international ``Most
Wanted'' drug kingpins. Of the approximately 55 worldwide cartels
currently on the list, 20 of them are Mexican enterprises. The CPOT
list is produced through the cooperative effort of the member agencies
of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
Program, and is the product of their shared information. Indeed, over
the last several years lawyers and agents assigned to SOD have been
coordinating on a number of cases concerning Mexican CPOT targets. This
list helps the Department and our federal agency partners focus
critical resources on the greatest threats.
Second, the Department leads three multi-agency intelligence
centers and an operational center that provide tactical, operational,
and strategic support in targeting the largest and most dangerous
Mexican cartels and focusing law enforcement resources. The El Paso
Intelligence Center (EPIC) currently involves the participation of more
than 20 agencies. EPIC provides critical, case-specific tactical
intelligence to law enforcement consumers. For example, if a highway
patrol officer stops a vehicle in the middle of the night, EPIC may
have information about the vehicle, driver or passengers that can be
provided in real time. EPIC focuses specifically on the Southwest
Border but also tracks broader tactical data. The ATF's ``Gun Desk'' at
EPIC serves as a central repository for all Department intelligence
related to firearms along the Southwest Border. EPIC also serves as the
primary repository for Department of Homeland Security intelligence on
firearms smuggling. In addition, the FBI, already a contributing member
at EPIC, is in the process of increasing its participation there by
creating its Southwest Intelligence Group (SWIG). The SWIG will be used
to coordinate information and intelligence relating to the Southwest
Border and to better disrupt and dismantle the ongoing violent criminal
activity. The SWIG head will also serve as an Assistant Deputy Director
of EPIC.
SOD, also led by DEA, is best described as an operations center,
rather than an intelligence center, because its functions go beyond the
gathering and processing of intelligence. It provides operational
targeting, support, and coordination for long-term, multi-agency
investigations. It passes leads that have been developed from
intelligence sources to field investigators and coordinates the
resulting investigations. SOD targets the command and control
communications of major drug trafficking and narco-terrorism
organizations. Special emphasis is placed on those major drug
trafficking and narco-terrorism organizations that operate across
jurisdictional boundaries on a regional, national, and international
level, and the operations coordinated by SOD include OCDETF
investigations. Operation Xcellerator and Project Reckoning were OCDETF
investigations that were both initiated and coordinated through SOD.
The transnational nature of narcotics trafficking requires a combined
Federal, state, tribal, and local agency response directed at stopping
the flow of narcotics into our communities, often brought together
through the OCDETF Program and coordinated through SOD. SOD also plays
a critical role in deconflicting these operations.
The OCDETF Fusion Center (OFC) is a comprehensive data center
containing drug and related financial data from DEA, ATF, FBI, IRS, the
USMS, the U.S. Coast Guard, CBP, NDIC, EPIC, the Treasury Department's
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Department of
State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, and other key players in the
international drug enforcement world. The OFC provides critical law
enforcement intelligence support for long-term and large-scale
investigations, complementing the mission of SOD by providing non-
communications intelligence at an operations level. The OFC conducts
cross-agency and cross-jurisdictional integration and analysis of drug
related data to create comprehensive pictures of targeted organizations
through its fused database, Compass. Using the protocols established by
SOD, the OFC passes actionable leads to field investigative units. In
addition, pursuant to recent agreements finalized by leaders within the
Department and DHS, by the end of this fiscal year ICE is expected to
be a full participant in the OFC.I21The third Department-led
intelligence center is NDIC, which provides policy makers and resource
providers with strategic drug intelligence. In addition to producing
the NDTA, NDIC produces regional and subject-specific threat
assessments. These include OCDETF Regional Assessments, including the
Southwest Region. NDIC provides Document and Media Exploitation (DOMEX)
support to field agents and prosecutors to facilitate the analysis of
seized evidence. NDIC also provides DOMEX training and software to
foreign law enforcement partners, including Mexico.
The work being done at these intelligence and operations centers is
remarkable, and their activities form a key component of our multi-
layered approach to dismantling this criminal threat.
Focused Law Enforcement Initiatives
The Department's efforts are focused on three underlying aspects of
the Southwest Border threat: drugs, guns, and illegal drug proceeds.
These efforts include an integrated and coordinated operational
response from Department law enforcement components in coordination
with one another and federal agency counterparts.
1. Movement of Drugs
DEA has the largest U.S. law enforcement presence in Mexico with 11
offices in that country. DEA Mexico primarily focuses its resources on
the command and control infrastructure of the Mexican cartel leaders
with the goal of removing the top layers of cartel leadership, who are
essential to the operation of these criminal enterprises. To achieve
this goal, DEA Mexico works closely with Mexican law enforcement to
help fight this criminal threat. Project Reckoning and Operation
Xcellerator are recent examples of this successful partnership. DEA
also sponsors the Sensitive Investigative Units, elite vetted units of
Mexican law enforcement and military which undergo robust background
investigations and polygraph examinations.
DEA also targets the cartels through its ``Drug Flow Attack
Strategy'' (DFAS), an innovative, multi-agency strategy, designed to
disrupt significantly the flow of drugs, money, and chemicals between
the source zones and the United States by attacking vulnerabilities in
the supply chains, transportation systems, and financial infrastructure
of major DTOs. DFAS calls for aggressive, well-planned, and coordinated
enforcement operations in cooperation with host-nation counterparts in
global source and transit zones around the world.
Department law enforcement components cooperate with other federal
agencies on EPIC's ``Gatekeeper Initiative.'' A ``Gatekeeper'' is a
person or group whose role is ``to facilitate the taxation and
protection of contraband loads (including illegal aliens) and to
enforce the will of the cartel through bribery, intimidation,
extortion, beatings, and murder.'' These Gatekeepers control territory
along the border and are key to cartel smuggling operations in both
directions. The Gatekeeper Initiative combines the statutory expertise
and authorities of its multi-agency members--DEA, FBI, the USMS, IRS,
ICE, ATF, and CBP--to: (1) establish multi-district investigations of
the Gatekeepers and their organizations operating along the Southwest
Border, including the identification and investigation of corrupt law
enforcement officials on both sides of the border; (2) identify
additional activities of the Gatekeepers in other regions and pass
investigative leads to those jurisdictions; (3) disrupt drug
trafficking patterns along the Southwest Border by attacking the
smuggling of major cartels; and (4) target the illegal purchase and
distribution of firearms by Gatekeepers.
Within the United States, DEA is working with DHS to implement its
``License Plate Reader Initiative'' in the Southwest Border region to
gather intelligence, particularly on movements of weapons and cash into
Mexico. The system uses optical character recognition technology to
read license plates on vehicles in the United States traveling
southbound towards the border. The system also takes photographs of
drivers and records statistical information such as the date, time, and
traffic lane of the record. This information can be compared with DEA
and CBP databases to help identify and interdict vehicles that are
carrying large quantities of cash, weapons, and other illegal
contraband toward Mexico. DEA and other law enforcement agencies will
be able to submit queries to the database, obtain near real-time
responses, and place alerts on suspect license plates.
2. Trafficking of Guns
ATF, in collaboration with other law enforcement entities, such as
ICE and CBP, seeks to identify, investigate, interdict, and eliminate
the sources of illegally trafficked firearms and the networks for
transporting them.
Since 2006, Project Gunrunner has been ATF's comprehensive strategy
to combat firearms-related violence by the cartels along the Southwest
Border. It includes special agents dedicated to investigating firearms
trafficking on a full-time basis and industry operations investigators
(IOIs) responsible for conducting regulatory inspections of Federal
Firearms Licensees (FFLs) along the Southwest Border. For instance,
from Fiscal Year 2004 through June 1st of this year, Project Gunrunner
referred for prosecution 882 cases involving 1,838 defendants; those
cases include 415 firearms trafficking cases involving 1,135 defendants
and an estimated 13,382 guns.
To date, Congress has allocated $25 million in support of Project
Gunrunner, and has shown support for the President's request of $18
million in additional funds for Project Gunrunner. These funds will
allow ATF to open new field offices staffed with special agents and
IOIs. With these additional resources, ATF can identify and prioritize
for inspection those FFLs with a history of noncompliance who represent
a risk to public safety, as well as focus on primary retailers and
pawnbrokers who sell the firearms of choice used by drug cartels. In
addition, the funds will be used to send additional special agents to
consulates in Mexico, and upgrade Mexico's ballistic imaging
technology, a key tool in assisting Mexican authorities in solving
crimes involving firearms.
The tracing of firearms seized in Mexico and the United States is
an essential component of the strategy to curtail firearms trafficking
along the Southwest Border. When a firearm is traced, specific
identifying information--including the make, model, and serial number--
is entered into the ATF Firearms Tracing System (e-Trace), which is the
only federal firearms tracing system. Using this information, ATF can
establish the identity of the first retail purchaser of the firearm and
then investigate how the gun came to be used in a crime or how it came
to be located in Mexico. Furthermore, analyses of aggregate trace data
can reveal trafficking trends and networks, showing where the guns are
being purchased, who is purchasing them, and how they flow across the
border. As a complement to the Mérida Initiative efforts, ATF
received $4.5 million in asset forfeiture funds from the Treasury
Department's Asset Forfeiture fund to initiate a Spanish version of
ATF's e-Trace to Mexico. ATF is working with Mexican officials to
increase their current usage of the e-Trace system, which will further
improve, with deployment of Spanish e-Trace in December of this year.
As part of President Obama's commitment to President
Calderón on his recent trip to Mexico, ATF will also work to
enhance the Integrated Ballistic Identification Systems that stores
digital photos and arms-related information related to criminal
investigations. This will allow the sharing of digital images,
ballistic markings, and other arms-related information to help identify
leads in violent crimes both in Mexico and in the United States. Our
efforts will be further enhanced by the President's commitment to urge
the Senate to provide its advice and consent in order to ratify the
Inter-American Convention Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and
Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related
Materials.
3. Bulk Currency Shipments and Money Laundering
The spike in violence in Mexico among the cartels stems from fights
over market share and profits as the Mexican and U.S. governments have,
by working together, succeeded in applying greater pressure against
them. In addition to removing the leadership ranks of the cartels, the
Department is waging a war to seize and forfeit their assets as well.
Again, as with any other criminal enterprise, the Department places a
high priority on attacking and dismantling the financial infrastructure
of the Mexican DTOs. Every OCDETF-approved investigation must include a
financial component designed to identify and ultimately forfeit the
illegal assets of the targeted organization.
Additionally, the Department has established a ``Bulk Currency
Money Laundering Initiative,'' an OCDETF Southwest Region Strategic
Initiative that investigates bulk currency movement along
transportation routes in the Southwest. Although we do not know the
exact amount of bulk cash flowing back across the U.S. border to the
Mexican DTOs, NDIC estimates that Mexican and Colombian DTOs generate,
remove, and launder approximately $18-$39 billion annually in gross
wholesale proceeds from their distribution of illicit drugs in the
United States, a large portion of which is believed to be smuggled in
bulk across the border back into Mexico. State and local agencies,
which encounter the vast majority of currency seizures on the highways,
often lack the resources necessary to conduct follow-up investigations
that will lead to the identification and prosecution of the major drug
organizations that own the smuggled currency. Again, we have worked in
partnership with other federal agencies with primary responsibility for
securing the U.S. border. This Strategic Initiative is designed to
enhance all the federal, state, tribal, and local agencies'; efforts
through coordination and cooperative investigation. Federal agencies
currently participating in this initiative include ATF, DEA, FBI, CBP,
ICE, IRS, the USMS, and the U.S. Attorney's Offices.
Between 2007 and 2008, $2.9 billion was forfeited under the
Department's Asset Forfeiture Program. Under the National Asset
Forfeiture Strategic Plan, asset forfeiture is integrated into every
appropriate investigation and prosecution, recognizing that asset
forfeiture is a powerful law enforcement tool that strips criminals of
their illicit wealth.
Finally, under the Merida Initiative, discussed above, the
Department is sharing its expertise with Mexican investigators and
prosecutors to strengthen Mexico's own asset forfeiture laws and
authority.
Federal Prosecution Along The Border
The United States Attorneys have over 540 prosecutors in the five
Southwest Border districts handling national and district-level
priorities including narcotics trafficking, firearms trafficking,
violent crimes, and immigration offenses. Although the Assistant U.S.
Attorneys (AUSAs) in these 5 border district offices comprise only 11
percent of the nation's AUSAs, in FY 2008, they were responsible for 35
percent of all felony cases, 68 percent of all felony immigration
cases, and 35 percent of all non-OCDETF narcotics cases filed in U.S.
District Courts nationwide. Each of the Southwest Border United States
Attorney's Offices works closely with federal, state, tribal, and local
investigative agencies on the initiatives described above. The United
States Attorney's Offices are on the front lines of the national effort
to prosecute both large-scale criminal enterprise cases involving
significant trafficking organizations as well as other criminal
offenses arising at the border with Mexico. The United States Attorneys
also coordinate with Mexican prosecutors to share evidence in
appropriate cases to ensure that justice is achieved either in U.S. or
Mexican courts.
During the past three years, U.S. Attorney's Offices and the
Department's Criminal Division have seen a significant increase in the
number of international fugitives returned to face justice in the
United States through international extradition. Colombia and Mexico
have extradited fugitives to the United States during this time in
unprecedented numbers. Some of those extradited were significant cartel
leaders, including major figures of the Tijuana and Gulf Cartels. For
example, Osiel Cardenas Guillen, leader of the Gulf Cartel, was
extradited from Mexico in January 2007. In December 2008, Mexico
extradited Juan Diego Espinosa Ramirez, ``El Tigre,'' a Colombian
associate of the Sinaloa Cartel. In February of 2009, Mexico extradited
Miguel Caro-Quintero to the United States to face federal narcotics
trafficking and racketeering charges brought by the Department; Caro-
Quintero is the former head of the now-defunct Sonora Cartel and was
responsible for trafficking thousands of metric tons of cocaine and
marijuana to the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s. In March of this year,
the Mexican government announced the arrest of Vicente Zambada-Niebla,
a top Sinaloa cartel figure, who has been indicted on federal narcotics
charges in the U.S. In April, the Mexican army arrested Vicente
Carrillo-Leyva, second in command of the Juarez Cartel and the son of
the late Amado Carrillo-Fuentes, the original Juarez Cartel head.
To build upon these successes, and to handle the growing number of
cases involving international extraditions and foreign evidence more
effectively, the Department is in the process of establishing an OCDETF
International Unit within the Criminal Division's Office of
International Affairs, which will focus on OCDETF cases involving the
highest-level Mexico-based targets. The Unit will expand the current
level of cooperation with our foreign counterparts in the arrest,
extradition, and successful prosecution of cartel leaders and their
subordinates.
In addition, through its regional fugitive task forces and
district-based violent offender task forces, the USMS works with state
and local police agencies on both sides of the border to locate and
arrest offenders who have committed drug crimes or drug-related crimes
of violence in the United States and subsequently fled abroad, as well
as those who have been charged in the United States but remain resident
in other countries. These USMS-led task forces place a high priority on
apprehending cartel-related fugitives both domestically and
internationally. In FY 2008, USMS arrested 269 violent cross-border
felony fugitives, and it currently has 200 cross-border violent felony
fugitive arrests for FY 2009.
The USMS also leads the Mexico Investigative Liaison (MIL) Program,
which focuses a coordinated effort on international fugitive matters
along the Southwest Border. The purpose of this district-based violent
crime initiative is to enhance the effectiveness of the USMS's
apprehension of violent cross-border fugitives wanted in Mexico or the
United States. The 42 Deputy U.S. Marshals currently assigned to the
MIL program work under the auspices of the USMS Foreign Field Office in
Mexico City. This program enhances international fugitive efforts by
establishing and maintaining contact with USMS Mexican counterparts and
sharing real-time law enforcement intelligence information.
Responding to the Threat with Additional Resources
Although the elements of the Department's proven prosecutor-led,
intelligence-based strategy are in place, in order to be more effective
in combating the Mexican cartels, the Department has taken the
following steps to buttress our law enforcement resources along the
Southwest Border and in Mexico.
Increased DEA presence on the border. DEA is forming
four additional Mobile Enforcement Teams to specifically target
Mexican methamphetamine trafficking operations and associated
violence, and anticipates placing 16 new positions in its
Southwest Border field divisions. Twenty-nine percent (1,171)
of the DEA's domestic agent positions are now allocated to the
DEA's Southwest Border field divisions.
Re-allocation of 100 ATF personnel to Southwest
Border. Based on ATF intelligence, analysis of firearms trace
data, and firearms trafficking patterns, ATF has deployed 105
employees, including 68 agents, to work on a temporary detail
called Gunrunner Impact Teams. The personnel are located
primarily in Houston and other areas of South Texas. The FY
2009 Budget, the Recovery Act, and the FY 2009 Wartime
Supplemental include additional new funding for Project
Gunrunner as well. In particular, $10 million in American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding is being used to hire 37
ATF employees to open, staff, equip, and operate new Project
Gunrunner criminal enforcement teams (in McAllen, Texas; El
Centro, California; and Las Cruces, New Mexico), and to assign
two special agents to each of the U.S. consulates in Juarez and
Tijuana to provide direct support to Mexican officials on
firearms-trafficking-related issues. The FY 2009 Wartime
Supplemental provides $10 million to support ATF's firearms
trafficking efforts, with $4 million to upgrade Mexico's
ballistic imaging technology and $6 million in support of
Project Gunrunner. ATF will also open new Gunrunner field
offices in Phoenix, Arizona, and Houston under the FY 2009
Budget and will add 30 additional ATF personnel in those areas.
USMS Fugitive Apprehension and Violent Crime Response.
Over the last nine months, the USMS has deployed an additional
94 Deputy U.S. Marshals to district offices and sent two
additional deputies, with another two to arrive by the end of
the year, to assist the Mexico City Foreign Field Office in
order to step-up efforts along the Southwest Border. In
addition, new Criminal Investigators have been placed in the
asset forfeiture field units along the Southwest Border. These
new positions will support U.S. Attorneys' Offices and
investigative agencies in the investigation of cartels and
other large-scale investigations. To assist in securing the
Mexican side of the border, USMS is providing training courses
to our Mexican law enforcement counterparts, resulting in
increased intelligence and operational reciprocity as it
relates to fugitive investigations and violent crime
initiatives. USMS has trained and equipped approximately 250
Mexican law enforcement officers since 2001, resulting in a 240
percent increase in the number of violent felony fugitives
arrested.
OCDETF augmentation of its Strike Force capacity along
the Southwest Border. In order to foster the enhanced
intelligence sharing and coordination necessary to achieve the
optimum intelligence-driven, strategic enforcement approach
against the most enduring and elusive targets, OCDETF has
established Co-Located Strike Forces in key cities across the
country, including San Diego and Houston. These Strike Forces
operate as true task forces, whose multi-agency members are
housed in a common office separate and distinct from any of
their parent agencies. Through constant, daily interaction with
each other, while still enjoying the resources and support of
their parent agencies, the members of the OCDETF Co-Located
Strike Forces have achieved great success against the major
Colombian and Mexican cartels. OCDETF is expanding the staffing
of its San Diego and Houston Strike Forces. Within the last
year, OCDETF has also established two new Strike Forces, one in
Phoenix and one in El Paso. In addition, OCDETF is adding one
full-time financial analyst contractor for each of the Strike
Forces and has plans to place an NDIC DOMEX team with each
Strike Force.
Increased FBI focus. The FBI is enhancing its efforts to disrupt
drug activity and to dismantle gangs that may have connections to the
violent Mexican drug cartels by participating on OCDETF task forces.
Aside from operational task forces, each of the FBI&'s border offices
has Border Liaison Officers who travel to Mexico on a weekly basis to
liaison and coordinate with law enforcement partners. These tools
provide local law enforcement on both sides of the border with a rapid
response force to immediately pursue, locate and apprehend violent
crime fugitives who commit their crimes and flee across the
international border to elude capture.
Increased funding to combat criminal narcotics activity
stemming from the Southern border. The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act includes $40 million, to the Department's Office of
Justice Programs, to provide assistance and equipment to state, tribal,
and local law enforcement to combat criminal narcotics activity along
the Southern border and in High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas,
including the $10 million that is required by statute to be transferred
to ATF's Project Gunrunner.
Public relations campaign. ATF, in partnership with the
National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), is doing a public education
campaign, ``Don't Lie for the Other Guy,'' in Houston and San Antonio,
Texas, and other locations on the Southwest Border this summer on
illegal straw purchasing of firearms. Efforts under this campaign will
include press conferences, radio, TV, billboards, and seminars with
people who have federal licenses to sell firearms.
Updated Interagency Agreements
In recent weeks, leaders within DEA, ATF, and ICE successfully
finalized updated agreements to increase information sharing and case
coordination mechanisms between DEA and ICE, and ATF and ICE,
respectively. These negotiations were guided by the commitment of
Attorney General Holder and Secretary Napolitano to alleviate existing
concerns that resources could be more effectively focused to combat
those responsible for the flow of drugs, weapons, and related proceeds
across our borders.
On June 18, DEA and ICE entered into a new interagency agreement to
increase the number of agents targeting international drug traffickers,
improve and enhance information and intelligence sharing, and promote
effective coordination between the agencies. Pursuant to the Agreement,
the Assistant Secretary of ICE will select an unlimited number of ICE
agents for cross-designation to investigate violations of the
Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 801, et seq., (``Title
21'') with a clearly articulable nexus to the United States border in
coordination with DEA. These ICE agents will target smugglers who bring
drugs into the country and transport them into our communities. In
addition, ICE now will be able to investigate these violations overseas
while coordinating with DEA. The agreement makes clear, however, that
overseas DEA remains the focal point with foreign law enforcement
officials on drug law enforcement operational and intelligence matters.
ICE and DEA will fully share information electronically through the
OCDETF Fusion Center. This will allow DEA, FBI, ATF, ICE, and other
participating agencies to access each other's case information and more
effectively target criminals. This sharing also promotes officer safety
and avoids duplication of efforts.
On June 30, ATF and ICE updated a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
that clearly establishes how the two agencies will work together on
investigations of international firearms trafficking and possession of
firearms by illegal aliens. This agreement clarifies the notification
process each agency is expected to follow while investigating the
international trafficking of firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons,
and munitions. The MOU will optimize the resources and minimize the
duplication of efforts by each agency. This agreement establishes a
framework for both agencies to conduct investigations and share
intelligence. Both agencies are committed to working together to reduce
firearms-related violence along the U.S. border.
Conclusion
Thank you for your interest in the Department's ongoing initiatives
and programs to promote coordination and collaboration between
investigative agencies regarding investigations of narcotics and
weapons along our borders. In order to attack the full spectrum of the
drug cartels' operations--drug trafficking, kidnapping, bribery,
extortion, money laundering and smuggling of profits, and trafficking
and use of firearms--we must employ the full spectrum of our law
enforcement agencies' resources, expertise, and statutory authorities.
By continuing to work together, building on what we have done well so
far, and developing new ideas to refresh our strategies, we can rise to
the current challenge. Again, thank you for your recognition of this
important issue and the opportunity to testify here today. I will be
happy to answer any questions you may have.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you.
And now for 5 minutes, Mr. McMahon?
STATEMENT OF BILL MCMAHON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF
ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES, DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
Mr. McMahon. Thank you, Chairwoman Sanchez, Chairman
Thompson, Congressman McCaul and other distinguished members of
the committee.
On behalf of Acting Director Ken Melson, I am honored to
appear before you today to discuss ATF's ongoing role in
preventing firearms from being illegally trafficked from the
U.S. into Mexico, and working to end the associated violence
along the border.
For over 30 years, ATF has been protecting our citizens and
communities from violent criminals and criminal organizations
by safeguarding them from the illegal use of firearms and
explosives. We are responsible for both regulating the firearms
and explosives industry and enforcing the criminal laws related
to those commodities.
The combination of ATF's crime-fighting expertise, specific
statutory and regulatory authority, analytical capability and
strategic partnerships is used to combat firearms traffic both
along the U.S. border and throughout the nation.
We know we cannot fight this battle alone. We work together
with our state and federal partners.
Just over 2 weeks ago, ATF hosted a Violent Crime and Arms
Trafficking Summit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This conference
was monumental in formalizing a longstanding partnership
between ATF and ICE. At this conference, a memorandum of
understanding was signed by the leaders of both ATF and ICE.
The MOU establishes how ATF and ICE will work together on
investigations of international firearms trafficking and
possession of firearms by illegal aliens. This agreement also
clarifies the notification process each agency is expected to
follow while investigating the international trafficking of
firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons and munitions. A
framework for conducting investigations and sharing
intelligence is also formalized in the MOU.
ATF and ICE routinely conduct joint investigations. Both
agencies are committed to working together to reduce firearms-
related violence along the U.S. border. This agreement
establishes a framework for both agencies to conduct
investigations and share intelligence. With the signing of the
MOU, we hope to better optimize the resources of each of our
agencies and minimize any duplication of efforts.
ATF's strategy for disrupting the flow of firearms to
Mexico, Project Gunrunner, has referred over 882 cases for
prosecution involving 1,838 defendants. Those cases include 415
firearms trafficking investigations, which involve 1,135
defendants and an estimated 13,382 firearms either trafficked,
or attempted to be trafficked, to Mexico.
The GAO report that was published in June of 2009, stated
that over 90 percent of the firearms seized in Mexico and
traced over the last 3 years had come from the United States.
We have established that the greatest proportions of
firearms trafficked to Mexico originated out of states along
the southwest border. ATF trace data additionally shows that
traffickers are also acquiring firearms from states as far east
as Florida, and as far north and west as Washington state.
Additionally, drug traffickers are known to supplement
their firearms caches with explosives. Our expertise with
explosives has proven to be another valuable tool to use in the
fight against drug cartels.
In fact, in the past 6 months, we have noted a troubling
increase in the number of grenades seized or used by drug
traffickers, and we are concerned about the possibility of
explosives-related violence materializing in U.S. border towns.
We have had at least one such instance in San Juan, Texas, when
a hand grenade was thrown into a crowd of 20 people.
ATF was able to identify the grenade and believes it is
linked to a Mexican drug cartel. We believe this device was
from the same source as those used during the attack on the
U.S. Consulate in Monterrey, Mexico.
Along the southwest border, ATF's Project Gunrunner
includes approximately 148 special agents dedicated to
investigating firearms trafficking on a full-time basis, and 59
industry operations investigators responsible for conducting
regulatory inspections of federally licensed gun dealers, known
as federal firearms licensees, or FFLs.
We recently sent over 100 additional personnel to South
Texas to support our push against the trafficking of firearms
to Mexico. In addition, ATF received a total of $25 million in
new funding in fiscal year 2009 for Project Gunrunner.
As the sole agency that regulates FFLs--roughly 7,000,
which are along the southwest border--ATF has the statutory
authority to inspect and examine the records and inventories of
its licensees, firearms trafficking trends and patterns, and
revoke the license of those who are complicit in firearms
trafficking.
For instance, ATF uses regulatory authority to review the
records of an FFL that received thousands of firearms, removed
their serial numbers and trafficked them to Mexico with the aid
of a co-conspirator.
An essential component of ATF's strategy to curtail
firearms trafficking to Mexico is the tracing of firearms
seized in both countries. Using this information, ATF can
establish the identity of the first retail purchaser of the
firearm, and possibly learn pertinent information, such as how
the gun came to be used in the furtherance of crime and how it
came to be located in Mexico.
Furthermore, analysis of aggregated trace data has revealed
trafficking trends and networks showing where the guns are
being purchased, who is purchasing them and how they flow
across the border. Let me share an example of how this trace
data can be used to identify a firearms trafficker.
ATF analysis of trace data linked a man living in a U.S.
city along the border to three gun crimes in Mexico. Further
investigation revealed that he had a fourth firearm that was
recovered in another crime in Mexico, and that he had purchased
over 100 AR-15 type receivers and seven additional firearms
within a short time span using nine different FFL wholesale
distributors as a source of his guns.
In April of 2008, ATF seized 80 firearms from the subject
and learned that he was manufacturing guns in his home. He sold
over 100 firearms to an individual who is suspected of being
linked to the cartels.
Lastly, I would like to briefly mention ATF's operational
presence at the El Paso Intelligence Center, EPIC, located in
El Paso, Texas.
EPIC is currently one of the most valuable tools for
intelligence sharing, coordination and multiagency efforts to
curb violence and firearms trafficking activities along the
southwest border.
At EPIC, we operate what is known as the ATF Gun Desk. The
mission of the Gun Desk is to identify and analyze all firearms
and explosives related data acquired and collected from law
enforcement and open sources. This would include Mexican
military and law enforcement, and also U.S. law enforcement
assets operating on both sides of the border.
The information gathered by the ATF Gun Desk is continually
evaluated and vetted to determine if violations of federal
firearms and explosives laws have occurred. The Gun Desk also
generates investigative referrals for field agents.
We at ATF will continue with our efforts along the
southwest border, and we will harvest our partnerships with not
only our law enforcement partners within the U.S., but we will
continue to work with the Mexican officials to obtain more
information and better understand the flow of firearms from the
U.S. to their country.
I thank you for having us here, and I look forward to
answering your questions.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate your
testimony.
The chair will now recognize other members for questions. I
remind each member that he or she will have 5 minutes to
question the witnesses, and I will recognize myself to ask some
questions.
I have one question first, and it is to Mr. McMahon.
Because there are some--we have a wide range, even on this
committee, of how people feel about guns. I happen to be, I
think, one of those in-the-middle kind of people. But we have
some who would not like your agency very much, because they
would like no restrictions, and some that probably would like
to melt down every gun in the world.
So, my question for you--because this has come up over and
over--we keep hearing this number of 90 percent of the guns
that are used in Mexico, or turned over from Mexico, are coming
from the United States, most of them from the southwest portion
of the United States.
So, I guess my question is, can you just talk a little to
what does that 90 percent mean? Does that mean of traceable
guns? Does that mean--because maybe there are some guns that we
do not have ballistics and, you know, chamber round information
on, et cetera.
Can you speak to that a little, so we can have a better
understanding when we are using these numbers out there?
Mr. McMahon. Sure. The 90 percent figure comes from what we
receive from traces from Mexico. Over the past 3.5 years,
Mexico has submitted a little over 20,000 firearms for tracing.
Of those 20,000 firearms that we have traced, 90 percent are
sourced from the U.S.--either manufactured or imported into the
U.S.--before they were recovered in Mexico.
I have heard reports that there are over 100,000 firearms
recovered in Mexico. I do not know. Just like in the United
States, I do not know how many firearms are recovered in crimes
here. I can only tell you about--I can only give you the
information about the guns that we receive information on.
Ms. Sanchez. So, you have received about 20,000.
Mr. McMahon. About 20,000 over the past three----
Ms. Sanchez. And of those you have looked at, 90 percent
which you could trace? Or 90 percent of those 20,000 had the
traces on them that indicated they were from the U.S.?
Mr. McMahon. Ninety percent of those 20,000 were sourced
from the United States. We talk about another percentage.
We rely mostly on successful traces, as well, because a
successful trace is really the only investigative lead that we
are ever going to have. And that is what we focus a lot of our
resources on, because those successful traces are going to get
us to a first, over-the-counter, retail purchaser. And that
will give us a lead to follow up on.
Some firearms are not successfully traced. But we know
that, if it is a Smith and Wesson revolver recovered in Mexico,
we know that that was manufactured in the United States. We
might not know who the first over-the-counter purchaser was,
but we know it is a U.S.-source firearm.
Ms. Sanchez. Okay. Thank you for clearing that up.
I would like to yield the rest of my time to Ms.
Kirkpatrick. She has several questions that she wants to ask,
and this is a very important issue on her border in Arizona.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. It is. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
You know I have been paying a lot of attention to this
issue since we have been here. And I appreciate the
cooperation.
I do have some concerns, though. The new MOU still does not
give ICE drug enforcement powers, but allows for an unlimited
number of agents to receive certification, and levels the
playing field for how the agencies cooperate.
But I am skeptical about whether the new MOU goes far
enough, as I believe the only agency with investigative power
of over border related crime should have legal authority to
look into drug-related crime. This MOU, though, is clearly a
major step. It will be important to observe how this agreement
works in practice.
And my first question is for you, Mr. Kibble. The ICE-DEA
MOU states that ICE agents ``will investigate only illegal drug
importation-exportation schemes, including the transportation
on staging activities, within the United States or between the
source or destination country and the United States.''
So, my question is, would this prevent ICE from pursuing a
drug investigation in a situation where they have arrested an
individual for a separate crime such as human trafficking, and
then happen to find narcotics in the person's possession, but
it is not clear that the location is a staging area?
Mr. Kibble. Congresswoman, for that particular scenario, we
would be able to leverage our arrest authorities to take the
person into custody. But if it was purely a domestic narcotics
issue, we would certainly get DEA involved or state and local
agencies.
But our focus, with respect to the exercise of our Title 21
authority, is directly focused on the smuggling conspiracies.
So, unless there were some other factors that indicated that
that same human trafficking network was involved in a
conspiracy to smuggle narcotics across our border, we would not
be relying on our Title 21 authority in that context.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. I have been talking with some of the law
enforcement officers in my district. And some of them are
certified through ICE to provide some investigative help, and
that has made a big difference.
Does this MOU expand that authority in rural Arizona?
Mr. Kibble. Ma'am, I believe you might be referring to our
Title 29 cross-designation authority, which allows state and
local officers to assist us with customs matters. But the
interagency agreement we reached with the DEA specifically
refers to ICE agents, cross-designation of ICE agents. So, that
is the limit of that.
Now, we have, particularly on our Border Enforcement
Security Task Forces, where we have multiple agencies that
support our investigations, and they are vested--some of them
are vested--with Title 19 authority, it may be that they are
supporting some of these investigations.
But with respect to the principal investigation of a Title
21 importation or exportation matter, it would need to be a
cross-designated ICE agent.
Mrs. Kirkpatrick. Okay. I might be wrong about that, but I
thought the law enforcement officer I was talking to had the
cross-certification. But I will look into that as well on my
end, and we will continue the conversation.
Thank you, Madam Chairman. I yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you to the gentlewoman from Arizona.
I will now recognize Mr. McCaul, of Texas, for his 5
minutes of questioning.
Mr. McCaul. I thank the Madam Chair.
And I would like to follow up on my good friend from
California's line of questioning about the weapons being
smuggled into Mexico.
Mr. McMahon, the number, it was 20,000 weapons were given
to us from Mexico. Is that right? Is that correct?
Mr. McMahon. That is correct. Over the past 3-1/2 years, we
have traced approximately 20,000 firearms from Mexico.
Mr. McCaul. Okay. And how do they determine which weapons
to send to you to be traced?
Mr. McMahon. It is really up to them, just like it is for
every law enforcement agency. We provide a service, which is
tracing. It is no different than the NYPD sending us the
traces.
Mr. McCaul. Do we know how many weapons they seize in
Mexico versus how much they give to us to be traced?
Mr. McMahon. No. We do not know that total number. We just
know open source reporting. There have been some statements
from different people.
We only know what we know, is what it comes down to, based
on what they trace.
Mr. McCaul. Okay. So, the weapons that they did give to
you, of those 20,000, all 20,000 were traceable? Or were they
not?
Mr. McMahon. Well, there is a difference between traceable.
We consider a firearm traceable that will lead us to the first
over-the-counter purchaser. And only about 44 percent of those
are traceable.
But as far as a source of supply, we know that, just based
on the manufacturing markings, whether or not it is a U.S.-
source firearm, either imported or manufactured.
Mr. McCaul. So, based upon either a serial number or the
manufacturer, you are able to determine the source,
essentially.
Mr. McMahon. The source country, yes. But a successful
trace leads us to a first over-the-counter purchaser, because
that is what we are dealing, the lead that we will be able to
push out to the field.
Mr. McCaul. And so, out of those 20,000, 90 percent,
according to your review, based upon serial number or
manufacturer, came from the United States.
Mr. McMahon. That is correct.
Mr. McCaul. Yes, we talked about hand grenades, both found
in Texas and in Mexico, the threat to the U.S. Consulate's
office in Mexico with hand grenades. Do you know where these
hand grenades are coming from?
Mr. McMahon. We do. The majority of them are coming from
Central America, from the Guatemala area, further south in
Central America. They may be manufactured in places such as
Israel or other countries, but we know through tracing that
those types of hand grenades were sold to certain Central
American countries.
Mr. McCaul. Can you just very briefly expand on the threat
that was posed to the U.S. Consulate's office in Mexico?
Mr. McMahon. I believe it was in October of this past year.
Two individuals--there were two or more individuals--fired some
rounds at the consulate, and then also threw a hand grenade
that did not detonate at the consulate. We have agents working
in that consulate.
We identified the hand grenade. And then, based on the
markings, we know where it sourced from. And then it was tied
directly to that hand grenade that was also recovered in San
Juan, Texas.
Mr. McCaul. Were the suspects captured?
Mr. McMahon. I believe they were at some point down the
road. I am not totally sure of that.
Mr. McCaul. Okay. If you could follow up with us on that, I
would like to know who they were. I assume it may be drug
cartel related, but we do not know.
Mr. McMahon. Absolutely.
Mr. McCaul. I would like to get the answer to that.
The more heavy style, military-grade weaponry, what is your
assessment as to where that is coming from?
Mr. McMahon. We know that over the past 3-1/2 years, any
military-grade weaponry that has been recovered is not U.S.-
sourced. We believe, again, that is from the Central America
region.
There are some reports that, you know, a .50-caliber rifle
mounted on the back of a pickup truck may have been a military-
grade weapon. That was not. That was a domestic weapon here in
the United States. But some of the LAWS rockets, grenade
launchers, those are not being sourced from the United States.
Mr. McCaul. And they come from Central America.
Do you think the source where they are getting it in
Central America could possibly be from, say, China or Russia?
Mr. McMahon. It possibly could come in from that way into
Central America, and then up into the southern border of
Mexico.
Mr. McCaul. Just an overall--I know this is on information
sharing and MOUs, and all that. The MOUs that we are talking
about here today are between these three agencies. But I wanted
to see if we could expand upon also the cooperation that we
have with Mexico in this effort.
And Mr. Placido, you talked about the Merida Initiative,
which is a very, very important initiative. And in terms of how
we are sharing information with Mexico, I know it is a very
dicey situation in terms of who you can trust.
Having gone down to EPIC, I saw what they are capable of
doing. They are doing some very great work, and I commend all
three of you for the work you are doing.
Can you just expand a little bit upon your three agencies'
roles, EPIC, and how you are working with our Mexican partners?
Mr. Placido. Certainly, sir.
I guess, beginning with our cooperation with Mexico, the
foundation--the bedrock, if you will--for our collaboration
with our Mexican counterparts is through a process we know as
vetting, which essentially entails conducting the same kind of
robust background investigation that we would do on a special
agent for any of our three agencies. It would include
financials, a psychological assessment, drug use testing. And
then it is concluded with a polygraph examination.
But that gives us a snapshot in time in terms of the
trustworthiness of the folks that we are dealing with and our
ability to share information with them.
When they pass through that process, they then come here
and spend anywhere from 4 to 9 weeks in an intensive training
program that we put them in Quantico, Virginia.
And probably most importantly, then these vetted units all
have at least one DEA special agent assigned, who has
unfettered drop-in rights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And
because these folks are now deemed to be both trustworthy and
competent investigators, we can then share that sensitive
investigative information that allows us to build these
investigations that span the border, and fight transnational
crime.
And, of course, a critical component of that is that the
information sharing with our Mexican counterparts is only as
good as the sharing that we do on this side of the border. And
so, organizations such as EPIC, which you visited, or the
OCDETF Fusion Center, our special operations division, are
designed so that we can coordinate investigations that cross
geographic boundaries, that cross federal, state and local
agency involvement, and actually focus the full weight of the
United States against these criminal enterprises.
Mr. McCaul. Well, thank you so much. I see my time has
expired.
Ms. Sanchez. I thank the gentleman from Texas.
And we will now recognize the chairman of the full
committee, Mr. Thompson, for as long as he would like.
Mr. Thompson. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
One of the reasons this hearing was called was this notion
that the outdated MOUs had long since served their usefulness,
and a notion of sharing intelligence was required. And I want
to just get each one of you on the record as to whether or not
you think that there presently exists some stovepiping of
intelligence that an expanded MOU or another MOU could resolve,
or, in your humble opinion, we have resolved all the
stovepiping issues that would negate interagency communication.
Mr. Kibble. Chairman Thompson, I think with this--
particularly with the interagency agreement with the DEA, as
well as the process that we are forwarding with the OCDETF
Fusion Center and the International Organized Crime Fusion
Center--that we are pretty much going to make available a
comprehensive--our reports of investigation and our
investigative data, so that we can find opportunities for
collaboration and get a more holistic picture of the threat we
face.
So, I do believe that this--of course, we need to implement
this bill--but this represents a substantial advancement
towards eliminating these stovepipes.
Mr. Placido. Mr. Chairman, I would concur with my
colleague, Mr. Kibble. We believe that the agreement as it is
currently drafted, if it is executed faithfully, will bring
about a new era in information sharing among and between law
enforcement officials, not only at the federal level, but with
our state and local counterparts, as well.
The OCDETF Fusion Center--and now, the International
Organized Crime Center, which has become an appendage of that--
fuses for the first time in a single repository, all of the
investigative reporting of the seven agencies involved in the
OCDETF program, and adds to that information on transnational
and organized crime that is not really the drug trafficking.
What we believe this will allow us to do is that kind of
cross-cutting analysis that will drive investigations, build
better coordination. And we think that that kind of
coordination on the front end will eliminate many of the
problems which historically have plagued interagency
cooperation on the rear end as we do the investigations
themselves.
Mr. McMahon. I agree with my colleagues, obviously. We have
been participating in the OCDETF Fusion Center for a number of
years. All of our data is there at the Fusion Center, but then
also, the ATF Gun Desk at EPIC. All of our information on
firearms is located right there, available to every participant
at EPIC.
So, I believe we are sharing everything that we have, and I
believe we are getting everything we need from the other
agencies.
Mr. Thompson. Well, thank you. So, the assumption is that,
if the MOUs are properly implemented, the past issues that have
prevented this interagency cooperation will not be around
anymore.
I am trying to just get it real clear.
Mr. Kibble. Yes, sir. I mean, as a process and as a
framework, yes. There of course will always be individual
personality conflicts----
Mr. Thompson. Sure, sure.
Mr. Kibble. --that will bubble up.
Of course, the key there will be holding those leaders
accountable for living up to the spirit of the agreements that
we have reached.
Mr. Thompson. Well, and I think one of the reasons I think
both this committee and Judiciary kind of encouraged the
rewrite of some of these MOUs was because times have changed.
And if we all are fighting one common enemy, the last thing we
needed was turf battles in the middle of this issue.
So, in that respect, I think all of us support the rewrite.
We are just cautiously optimistic that its implementation will
give us what we are looking for. And I think that is the
spirit.
A couple of other issues. DEA issued a moratorium on travel
to the Caribbean and a couple of other areas. Have we lifted
that moratorium?
Mr. Placido. Mr. Chairman, I think it is an excellent
question. And I think it demonstrates the need for this
collaboration.
I was led to believe that that question might be asked, so
I did some research before coming to this meeting.
What I can tell you is that that travel ban was related to
a specific case. It was a temporary measure. It has been
lifted.
And the issue in question was not about whether,
fundamentally, DEA and ICE could cooperate, but how important
it is that, when we do work together, that we are coordinating
and talking to each other.
I believe that the outgrowth of that matter was that some
ICE individuals traveled into the Caribbean to conduct an
investigation without contacting the local office as required
by the old MOU. And the individuals that they were actually
going to meet with as confidential sources, or informants,
were, in fact, people who had already been indicted by DEA, and
we were seeking--they were fugitives--we were seeking their
extradition.
And so, until that matter could be resolved--it has been--
there was a ban on those particular individuals coming down so
we could work through those specific issues.
It is my belief that this new sense of cooperation, the new
agreement that we have, and the sharing of information on the
front end through the OCDETF Fusion Center would eliminate--we
would never get to the point that the travel would occur and
that they would be targeting these individuals as confidential
sources, because the right record checks and the right
communication would have been done, and they would have
realized that these individuals were already indicted and were
actually fugitives from U.S. justice.
Mr. Thompson. So, your testimony is that, with the new
MOUs, if that same situation would happen right now, there
would be no need to issue the travel ban or anything else,
because ICE and any other agency would already have the
knowledge and information necessary to go forward?
Mr. Placido. Yes, sir.
Mr. Thompson. Good. Thank you very much.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And now we will hear from Mr. Rogers, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Mr. Kibble, I want to talk about the 287(g) program. And I
preface my remarks by letting you know I think it is
outstanding. Alabama, as you are probably aware, is one of the
three pilot states that started the program. It has been a
stellar success.
There have been zero complaints about abuse of the process,
profiling, or anything like that. And the only thing I have
heard is demand for more. Not just the state troopers, but
sheriffs and police officers would like to have this training,
as well.
Now, having said that, I understand it has been suggested
that you may revisit the MOUs for 287(g). Tell me, is that
true?
Mr. Kibble. Sir, I apologize. The Office of State and Local
Coordination within ICE administers that program, so I am not
completely up to speed. But I would be happy to go back and get
you a more comprehensive answer.
Mr. Rogers. If you would, I would like to know if they are
going to be revisiting it. And if so, what changes are they
suggesting would be part of that, and how might it change, if
any, the task force model that we have with those MOUs?
I would like to go back to your border security
implementation. And I want to ask, do you use canines as a part
of your efforts, canine teams?
Mr. Kibble. Sir, as part of the Border Enforcement Security
Task Forces, we have robust participation by Customs and Border
Protection, the uniformed arm that secures our border. And they
have access to canines, so that when we need to leverage
canines in support of a particular interdictive activity in
support of an investigation, we can reach and resource that.
Mr. Rogers. In looking at just your department, ICE, I have
talked about this repeatedly to this committee. While we have
dramatically increased CBP and the number of agents, ICE has
remained flat for the last 6 years as far as adding manpower.
Do you feel like you have enough manpower to do your--to
feel like you fulfill your role in these agreements in our
border security initiative?
Mr. Kibble. Sir, actually, with the generosity of the
Congress in terms of the supplemental that was passed a number
of months ago, and the president's budget that is currently
being considered, we feel that is an appropriate resourcing.
It is true--and we have gotten enhancements in previous
years--it is true that our ratio of support, in terms of an
investigator mapped against the CBP officer, has not been
consistent--I mean, has fallen off somewhat.
But we do feel that the Congress has been very generous in
providing us with resources, particularly with respect to the
violence we face along the border in terms of surging our
resources to deal with that threat.
Mr. Rogers. Well, my concern, though, is that you have been
pulled from other important areas that you are already devoting
attention to in order to meet this new role. And we have not
added additional ICE agents to backfill.
And I am very concerned about that continued level of
funding of manpower in ICE.
And just for the record, I know you are in a situation
where you probably cannot tell me candidly on the record that
you need more agents. But I know you need more agents, and I
want to make sure in every forum where we have a chance, I want
to bring that point up.
I want to go back to the guns and talking about 90 percent
of those that you could trace. I thought you said at one time
from open sources that there had been 100,000 seized. Is that
one of the open source numbers you had mentioned?
Mr. McMahon. Yes, I have heard that, that there have been
some statements from Mexico that they have seized over 100,000
firearms.
Mr. Rogers. Yes. So, I want to emphasize that, because not
mentioning, not including the weapons grade, the military
weapons grade items, that 90 percent is really misleading if
you look at the overall stockpile of weapons they have there.
Ninety percent of the 20,000 that we could trace were from the
U.S., but that was just a fraction of the weapons.
So, I think it is misleading when anybody says that the
overwhelming majority of the weapons going into Mexico are from
domestic sources here in America.
And also, I find it surprising we hear so much talk about
our southwest border being where these weapons are going
across, when it seems to me it would be much easier to go into
their coastal borders.
Do you all have any knowledge of weapons coming in at our
coastal borders?
Mr. McMahon. The cases that we are putting together, the
majority of them are coming across our land borders. We have
seen some recent cases that may be going down into Central
America. They may be coming up that way.
But as far as the tracing picture, I mean, obviously, the
more we know, the more we know. And we are trying to do our
best to make it easier for Mexico to trace all of their
firearms.
We should at the end of the year be implementing our
Spanish e-Trace, and hopefully to push that to every state in
Mexico. And hopefully, that will enhance our numbers.
The numbers have gone up steadily over the past couple of
years. But obviously, we need to know the whole picture, just
as we need to know the whole picture of firearms recovery here
in the United States.
Mr. Rogers. Thank you.
And I yield back.
Ms. Sanchez. And next we have Ms. Lofgren, for 5 minutes.
Ms. Lofgren. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. And I think this
is an important hearing.
When we meet with officials from Mexico, one of the--this
is one of the most important things they want to talk to us
about.
I remember, I think almost 3 years ago, meeting with the
attorney general of Mexico. He said almost all of the guns that
they find in the drug cartels are coming from the United
States. And he expressed his recognition that we have a Second
Amendment, understands that we are not going to change that,
but really begged us, consistent with that, to do something
about just the river of guns going into Mexico.
And I was able to tell the Mexican congress when we met a
month ago, that we have got a new effort underway. And they are
very appreciative of the effort.
And it is interesting. Across the political spectrum, from
the far left to the far right, they are united on this one,
because they know that, if they do not win their fight against
the drug cartels, civil society in Mexico is very much
jeopardized.
So, I am happy to hear that there is this new coordination.
I will express some anxiety. And we are hearing that everything
is fine. I hope that is true.
But I am wondering if there are some metrics that we ought
to be looking at, because I am sure the chairwoman will want to
have another hearing in a few months to get a report on--you
know, everything is fine today. Let us measure our progress.
What metrics would you suggest?
Any of you?
Mr. McMahon. I know one of the things that we will be
looking at is the number of joint investigations we have, the
number of joint operations that we have with ICE. I think, as
we work through this process, I think we have always had a very
good relationship with ICE and notifying each other on cases.
But now, with the specifics in this MOU, I think it will
make easier. It will spell it out a little bit more easily for
our troops on the ground on how they should be coordinating.
And I know that is one of the things we will be looking at.
Mr. Placido. Madam, if I may, one of the things that I
would add to that response is that the participation at the
OCDETF Fusion Center and the provision to that center of
investigative reporting from the various agencies lends itself
to counting and to monitoring by means of metrics. And that
will be an approximate measure, I believe, of our success,
because as the participants of the various investigative
agencies have access to information from other agencies, that
should naturally sort of lower the number of conflicts we have
later on during the investigations.
So, I would suggest to you that one of the key metrics to
be addressed would be the extent to which all of the
participating agencies are, in fact, honoring the agreement and
providing their most sensitive investigative information to the
center.
Mr. Kibble. I agree with my colleagues. And the rigor of
metrics will be helpful and useful in monitoring that.
I also think, though, it is important that we as the senior
leaders in our agencies meet regularly and speak with our
principal field officers in the field to ensure that, if there
are any issues that are arising, we are resolving them as
quickly as possible.
I can tell you that we have had a number of conference
calls with all of our SACs. We have placed messages to the
field. They have already engaged their DEA counterparts to
really make sure we are off on--and our ATF counterparts--to
make sure we are off on the right foot in terms of getting this
agreement implemented.
Ms. Lofgren. Let me ask this. We have got a problem of gun
flow south, drug and human smuggling north. But we also have
money laundering. And that is not the focus of this hearing,
but I am wondering how we incorporated our need to follow the
money with the coordination that you are doing here.
Mr. Kibble. Well, for example, the interagency agreement
with DEA talks about sharing of records through the OCDETF
Fusion Center. And that will include our financial
investigations, as well--an area that ICE has more than 30
years of experience in, in terms of money laundering.
So, there certainly will be--we have also agreed to share
data at EPIC in the National Seizure System.
So, a lot of the coordination mechanisms that are contained
in these agreements will serve the money laundering and the
flow of illicit proceeds south, as well.
Mr. Placido. I would only add to my colleague's testimony
by saying that, at the Drug Enforcement Administration, every
criminal investigation must have a financial component to look
at the money laundering. That is certainly the case in all of
the interagency OCDETF investigations. It is required.
And I will let my colleagues speak for themselves, but I
believe that is an integral part of all of our investigations
today. The grease and the glue that makes this transnational
crime business work is illicit money. And it is clearly in our
crosshairs.
Ms. Lofgren. I see my time has expired, and I would yield
back.
Mr. Thompson. [Presiding.] Thank you. The gentlelady is
returning.
The gentleman from Texas, Mr. Green, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Green. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I thank the witnesses for testifying.
And I might also add that I am grateful that we have one
more day to try to get it right. And because we have this
additional day and so little time, I want to apologize if my
questions seem to be somewhat overbearing, or if I should say
something that creates a little bit of friction.
But time is so limited, and we never know for whom the bell
will toll next. So, I want to make sure that I use my time as
efficaciously as I can.
Do we agree, all of us--meaning the three of you and me--
that we have a gunrunning problem? And I assume that your
answer is ``yes,'' because you would not have a Project
Gunrunner if you did not have a problem.
So, you all agree that there is a problem?
All right. Given that we all agree there is a problem, then
the question becomes, if we gave you everything that you need
within reason to resolve the problem, could you resolve it?
Mr. McMahon. I think it is a resolvable problem, yes. Maybe
not totally. I mean----
Mr. Green. I understand. You would never get 100 percent.
Mr. McMahon. Right.
Mr. Green. But you could resolve it, if we gave you
everything that you need within reason?
Mr. McMahon. I believe so.
Mr. Green. Okay. Then the question becomes, what do you
need to get?
Do not tell me now that you need a certain amount of money.
I do not want you to put yourself in a position such that, when
you go back to the office, you may have some additional
questions to answer. Rather than tell me about money, tell me,
what do you need to get the job done?
Mr. McMahon. One of the things we have done is, we--
Mr. Green. Remember now, this is one of those cases where
time--remember, we never know for whom the bell will toll next.
We have got to do everything that we can to resolve the
problem, with the limited time that God has given us.
Mr. McMahon. When we see an uptick in violence like we did
in Mexico about 5 years ago, we redeployed assets. Obviously,
when we redeployed assets, we had to take them from somewhere.
Right now we have a 120-day detail going down in South
Texas, with 100 agents from across the country that are no
longer doing what they were doing in New York and Washington--
--
Mr. Green. So, you need to replace those 100 agents?
Mr. McMahon. At least that, yes.
Mr. Green. Well, this is a day to talk about a wish list.
Okay? Let us get the wish list out there. What is on the wish
list?
Mr. McMahon. We know at ATF that, for the next 4 years, if
we could bring on 250 agents, 125 IOIs, investigators, and 50
support personnel--each year--that will get us up to where we
believe we need.
Mr. Green. So, 250 agents.
Mr. McMahon. Each year for the next 4 years----
Mr. Green. Each year.
Mr. McMahon. --125 industry operation investigators and 50
support personnel.
Mr. Green. Okay. So----
Mr. McMahon. Everything that goes along with those
personnel.
Mr. Green. Okay. Agents and equipment.
Mr. McMahon. Correct. Personnel and equipment.
Mr. Green. Personnel and equipment, 250, the next 4 years.
Okay, what else, sir?
Anything else? That would do it for you?
Mr. McMahon. That is what--our plan is to----
Mr. Green. All right. Let us go to the next gentleman.
What would it take? You have got your wish list.
Mr. Placido. Well, sir, the good news from our perspective
is that we are largely getting what I think the Drug
Enforcement
Administration can contribute to this, and that is, we are
building out a----
Mr. Green. Let me just make sure that I have got you right
now. You do not need anything.
Mr. Placido. Not at this point on guns, sir.
Mr. Green. Okay. Well, all right. But not at this point,
maybe at this second. But will you need it next year? Give me
your wish list as you are projecting. What will you need?
Mr. Placido. Clearly, we can always do more with more
resources. But the focus of the Drug Enforcement Administration
is not guns, so I am hesitant to sit here and tell you that my
agency needs additional resources to help on investigations of
firearms.
We will do everything we can within our power----
Mr. Green. I will make a note that you have indicated that
you do not need anything right now. And we will look forward to
seeing you when you come back.
Okay, let us go to--is that Mr. Kibble?
Mr. Kibble. Yes, sir.
Mr. Green. All right. What do you need, sir?
Mr. Kibble. Congressman, we are actually already in the
process of receiving enhanced resources. I think we need to
bring them on board and assess how we are doing in terms of
mitigating the threat. And then let me come back and give you
an after-action report.
Mr. Green. Okay. Now, let us talk about the gunrunning
rather quickly, because my time is about to expire.
Have we employed the latest in technology to assist us with
the gunrunning?
For example, do you make recommendations about firearms and
how they can be manufactured? If you are privy to some
technology that would be of benefit to you, do you make those
kinds of recommendations to us?
Mr. McMahon. When a new firearm comes onto the market, it
is reviewed by us in our firearms technology branch to make
sure it is in compliance with the law.
Mr. Green. Do you make recommendations to Congress?
Mr. McMahon. I do not believe we do, no.
Mr. Green. Okay. Do you make recommendations to Congress,
sir?
Mr. Placido. No, sir.
Mr. Green. Do you make recommendations to Congress, sir?
Mr. Kibble. No, sir.
Mr. Green. Mr. Chairman, if I may, I would like to explore
the possibility of crafting some legislation that would allow
them to make recommendations to Congress, so that we could
benefit from the intelligence that they receive on the ground.
Mr. Thompson. Well, I think, perhaps as we had a classified
briefing from the people, we could probably get some additional
information that could probably give us what we want.
Mr. Green. I yield to the wisdom of the chair.
Mr. Thompson. Well, we will set it up. It is good.
But I think one question that I would like to put on the
gun issue, of those 90 percent guns that we identified, can you
tell me the source of a majority of those guns?
Mr. McMahon. The source as far as the country, state,
individual?
Mr. Thompson. No, the source as to----
Ms. Sanchez. He said 44 percent.
Didn't you say 44 percent?
Mr. McMahon. Well, 44 percent is about our success rate to
get to an individual, over-the-counter purchaser.
Mr. Thompson. Yes, okay.
Mr. McMahon. But----
Mr. Thompson. All right. So, 44 percent of the 90?
Mr. McMahon. Yes, 44 percent of the total is what we
consider successfully traced, that we have traced that to an
over-the-counter purchaser.
Mr. Thompson. All right. Is that, you know, from gun shows
or firearm dealers? Or just break out the 44 percent.
Mr. McMahon. The way the tracing system works, it will have
to--we can only trace it to a gun dealer, because that is where
the records are.
The way a trace works is, we will identify a firearm. We
will call up the manufacturer. The manufacturer to the
wholesaler, the wholesaler to distributor, the distributor to
the FFL, and then contact the FFL to find out who they actually
sold the firearm to.
Their records do sometimes say that they sold this at a gun
show. But the majority of them just say that they sold that
themselves from their inventory.
Mr. Thompson. So, if I bought that weapon at a gun show,
what would I have to produce to buy it?
Mr. McMahon. If you bought that weapon from a gun show,
from a licensed dealer, you fill out your record, you have the
background check. All of that would be in place.
Mr. Thompson. What if Mr. Green brought his daddy's .50-
caliber----
Mr. McMahon. There is no----
Mr. Thompson. --to the gun show?
Mr. McMahon. There would be no record of that, other than
when Mr. Green's father purchased the firearm.
Mr. Thompson. And I could buy that weapon and not have to
produce any identification or whether I happened to have been a
convicted felon, or anything?
Mr. McMahon. Individual sales to each other, there is no
recordkeeping. There is no requirement for background checks or
that sort of thing.
Mr. Thompson. And our trace system right now is unable to
pick that up.
Mr. McMahon. We can only trace firearms to the first over-
the-counter purchaser.
Mr. Thompson. From the legitimate dealer to an individual.
Mr. McMahon. Correct.
Mr. Thompson. And so, with that classified briefing that we
are talking about, would you be able to offer some suggestions
to us about how that loophole could be closed?
Mr. McMahon. I can talk with our people and see if we can
do that. Yes, sir.
Mr. Thompson. Let me suggest you talk to them.
Mr. McMahon. I will, sir.
Mr. Thompson. All right. Thank you very much.
Ms. Sanchez. [Presiding.] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You have
just pointed out one of the reasons why I hate gun shows so
much.
We have legitimate people who are in our community, paying
taxes, paying rent, being real gun dealers, taking information
on people, et cetera. And a gun show comes into town, and you
have people who do not have to do any of that.
And this is a problem. And it speaks specifically to
problems like we see at the border.
I have one last question before we end this. The reason I
brought up this whole issue of this 90 percent when we began,
is to bring it back to the whole idea that, if there is
something as policymakers and as lawmakers that the Congress
can do--some legislation or some program or something--that
will help us to actually go after these people who are
trafficking guns, who are running guns into Mexico, or bad
sellers, who might be licensed correctly, but who are in fact
selling to people who are pushing guns into Mexico.
And again, I come from the perspective of, I am not against
guns, and I do not want to limit the ability for everyday
people to buy a gun to go hunt or to protect their own home, or
to go and, you know, shoot at the firing range.
What I want to figure out is how--is there a way in which
we pass legislation that will help you do your job to stop what
looks like legitimate gun dealers, who are really bad guys, or
to stop illegitimate people, gun types of people, sellers, from
helping to move these arms, in particular into Mexico?
And I would ask that of all of you.
Mr. McMahon. Well, first of all, the regulating firearms
industry, right now there are about 59,000 federal license
dealers that have gun shops. We actually have 540 investigators
to regulate them.
So, obviously, the math is, right now we are trying to get
to--along the border we are getting to all of those licensed
dealers once every 3 years. That would be our goal across the
country. But obviously, with the resources we have, there is no
way we can get to 59,000 licensees.
That is on top of another 40,000 licensees that are either
collectors or manufacturers, and then, on top of another 35,000
explosives licensees that those same 550 investigators have to
regulate.
Ms. Sanchez. And so, when you asked for those additional
resources every year, what category of worker was that?
Mr. McMahon. That was the industry operation investigators,
the IOIs. We are looking for about--our plan is for 125 each
year for the next 5 years--or 4 years, I am sorry.
Mr. Placido. Madam Chairwoman, I have long marveled that my
colleagues at ATF, and others who have to enforce gun laws,
have a much more difficult situation than we have at the Drug
Enforcement Administration. Drugs are contraband from the
beginning, and we can proactively investigate people who
traffic in these contraband substances.
Unfortunately, the Second Amendment oftentimes makes it
lawful to have the weapons, and you can only conduct the
investigation after the crime has occurred.
So, barring some change to our constitutional scheme, I do
not know how we could investigate firearms in the same manner
that we traditionally investigate drug trafficking.
Ms. Sanchez. But you would think that maybe we would need
to, if we really want to stop some of this from happening. We
acknowledge that.
It is just that, constitutionally, we really do not want--I
mean, I do not want to take away the right to bear arms to the
individual in the United States. It is just when they are
buying 300 semiautomatic weapons, or something, I do not think
they are going to hunt with all of those at the same time on
the same day.
But, okay.
Mr. McCaul. Will the gentlelady yield?
Ms. Sanchez. Yes, Mr. McCaul.
Mr. McCaul. I would just like to make the point that, you
know, it is illegal to smuggle weapons into Mexico. That is
already a violation of the law, and we need to enforce that.
I think these BEST teams that I saw down in El Paso, for
instance, I think enhancing that resource capability down there
with the BEST teams--and perhaps, you know, and actually having
Mexico do its job screening what is coming into its country--is
perhaps one of the answers, one of the best answers to this.
I saw the dogs down there, and they were apprehending
weapons and currency.
Of course, there are other points of entry and other ways
to get it into Mexico.
And so, I share the gentlelady's concern about this issue.
And I think that, you know, from a resource standpoint, we need
to look at what can we do to enhance our efforts to capture the
currency and the weapons going into Mexico.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Mr. McCaul.
Mr. Kibble, would you have any----
Mr. Kibble. Chairwoman Sanchez, just to say that----
Ms. Sanchez. --words of wisdom?
Mr. Kibble. --with respect to our mission, the ICE mission,
in terms of targeting cross-border smuggling, we feel we had
the authorities we need between the Arms Export Control Act and
our other export authorities. And that is one component--a
significant component--of the broader interagency effort to
deal with threat.
But obviously, with more resources we could more.
Ms. Sanchez. Thank you, Mr. Kibble.
I would like to recognize the gentlewoman from Texas, for 5
minutes.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Thank you to the witnesses. And I thank
the chair and ranking member for holding this meeting.
Mr. Placido, we have had an encounter some weeks ago. I
hope we will have a better one this time.
The concern has gotten extensive. And we appreciate your
service, and we appreciate the service that all of the officers
of your various units give us every day. They are on the front
lines.
I would like to start with Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
And I focus on my city, primarily because I have served on
Homeland Security since 9/11, and on Judiciary since coming to
the United States Congress. And I would view my questioning to
be reflective of how we can improve our circumstances.
Why is Houston such an attractive site for gunrunning and
for drugs? And the combination is explosive.
You are obviously aware of how hard our law enforcement are
working. Just 2 weeks ago, I held a roundtable with Texas
Rangers, Department of Public Safety, the sheriff, the police,
constables, and it was very effective.
And I do thank your agencies that were participating--some
of the agencies. ICE participated. We thank them very much.
So, tell us why they are such--it is such an attractive
place? Speak openly about gun laws in Texas.
And as you well know, we have been suffering from what
seems to be the acts of bad actors who happen to be
undocumented aliens, who we are all collectively supporting.
But that is not the face of immigration.
And so, we have a dual problem.
Can you share that with us, Mr. McMahon?
Mr. McMahon. Yes, I can.
Ms. Jackson Lee. And the efforts that you have been making.
And I would like you to add the Texas Rangers, if you are not,
and the Texas Department of Public Safety officers as part of
this team.
Mr. McMahon. Absolutely.
I believe why Houston and South Texas is one of our major
sources of supply to Mexico is obviously the proximity to the
border, the large population there. There are a large number of
dealers there. There is a large supply of firearms in Texas.
So, that makes it attractive to those who want to take
advantage of our laws.
Our efforts, as I said earlier, we have an additional 100
personnel in South Texas right now. We are a small agency. We
have to partner with people like the----
Ms. Jackson Lee. So, if, for example, we would have enough
interest that we would up your budget, could you use that
money?
Mr. McMahon. Absolutely.
Ms. Jackson Lee. You could use more than 100.
Mr. McMahon. I think, you know, when we move those 100 down
there, the results are astronomical.
Ms. Jackson Lee. And how well without--you have some in the
Houston area.
Mr. McMahon. Yes. Houston and then----
Ms. Jackson Lee. Do the laws of our state impact on it
being a lightning rod--Houston, for example--for this
gunrunning?
Mr. McMahon. Well, obviously, the laws--guns are accessible
in the Houston area, more accessible there than some other
states. But I think it is more so the proximity to the border,
and then, obviously, the population size of the Houston area.
Ms. Jackson Lee. And you think the effective roundtable or
coordinating--and have you established--is it in a MOU, or you
all just put together a task force?
Mr. McMahon. We have worked on task forces. Obviously,
because of--an agency the size of us, we have to----
Ms. Jackson Lee. You have to leverage your numbers.
Mr. McMahon. Absolutely.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Mr. Placido, very quickly, I asked this
question before, because Mr. Poe and I have legislation about
dispatching extra numbers. So, let me put it in a different
way.
Could you use more financial resources to help in the DEA
effort? And particularly, how and why is Houston a lightning
rod for, I assume, what is quite a bit of drug running?
Mr. Placido. Thank you for the question. Clearly, we could
do more with additional resources.
Houston historically has been a very important location in
transnational drug trafficking. If you go back to the 1980s, it
became in many senses a corporate headquarters for Colombian
drug trafficking organizations, owing to a large population of
Colombians there. And I do not mean to disparage ethnic groups,
but there was a very large concentration of drug trafficking
organizations based with their roots in Colombia.
As that traffic shifted and Mexican organizations began to
take over transportation and retail distribution, Houston had a
history--had the infrastructure, is close to the border--as a
staging area. And it remains one of the critical nodes in
smuggling of----
Ms. Jackson Lee. So, if we can make a dent in Houston, we
can make a large dent in some of the cross-border problems.
Mr. Placido. Yes, ma'am.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Madam Chairman, I ask unanimous consent
for an additional minute for Mr. Kibble to answer as this time
runs out.
Mr. Kibble, if you would. And as I indicated, Mr. Poe and I
have legislation that helps to dispatch individuals----
Ms. Sanchez. Ms. Jackson Lee, would you have him answer the
question? I have Mr. McCaul, who needs to----
Ms. Jackson Lee. And so, if you would answer that question.
Ms. Sanchez. --would like to say something, if we have
time.
Ms. Jackson Lee. And then I can share with you the
legislation.
Mr. Kibble, thank you.
Mr. Kibble. Ms. Congresswoman, I mean, with the finite
resources we have, we prioritize our efforts. With additional
resources we could broaden those priorities to address more.
And very quickly, to the other issue that you had
identified in terms of the criminal alien----
Ms. Jackson Lee. Criminal aliens.
Mr. Kibble. --impact. We have other programs, such as
Secure Communities, that we are rapidly deploying in order to--
and prioritizing criminal aliens--in order to remove them as
threats from our communities, as well.
Ms. Jackson Lee. Let me thank you all very much. I look
forward to working with you on this very severe problem. And I
look forward to you looking at my legislation----
Ms. Sanchez. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
Ms. Jackson Lee. --as it relates to more resources.
Thank you, Madam Chair, very much. This is an important----
Ms. Sanchez. We thank the witnesses for their valuable
testimony, and the members for their questions. And the members
of the subcommittee may have additional questions for the
witnesses. We will ask you to respond quickly in writing to
those questions.
And hearing no further business, the subcommittee stands
adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:34 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
For the Record
__________
Questions and Responses
Questions from the Honorable Loretta Sanchez, Chairwoman, Subcommitttee
on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism,
Responses from Kumar Kibble
Question 1.: GAO recently reported (GAO-09-709) that there was a
lack of information sharing between ATF and ICE on firearms trafficking
issues at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), which was established
to facilitate coordinated intelligence gathering and dissemination
among member agencies related to southwest border efforts to address
drug, alien, and weapons smuggling. Separately, GAO reported (GAO-09-
63) that ICE has not participated fully in DEA-operated intelligence
centers, which leaves them lacking an important source of information
and intelligence.
What steps are being taken to improve cooperation and information
sharing between ATF and ICE at EPIC and DEA and ICE at DEA-operated
intelligence centers?
Response: On June 30, 2009, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) updated a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that
clearly establishes how the two agencies will work together on
investigations of international firearms trafficking and possession of
firearms by illegal aliens.
The MOU will optimize the resources and minimize the duplication of
efforts by each agency. This agreement establishes a framework for both
agencies to conduct investigations and share intelligence. ATF and ICE
routinely conduct joint investigations. This agreement clarifies the
notification process each agency is expected to follow while
investigating the international trafficking of firearms, ammunition,
explosives, weapons and munitions. Both agencies are committed to
working together to reduce firearms-related violence along the U.S.
border.
More recently, ATF's Acting Director and ICE's Assistant Secretary
visited with Mexican officials to discuss ways to coordinate firearms
trafficking and smuggling investigations on both sides of the border.
The ICE Office of Intelligence (Intel) assigned personnel to the
``EPIC Gun Desk,'' which is located within the Watch Operations area at
the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC). Prior to the integration of ICE
personnel into the ``Gun Desk'' operation, the function had been known
as the ``ATF Gun Desk.'' In keeping with the collaborative initiative
of ICE personnel working closely with ATF personnel, the name of the
operation was changed to the ``EPIC Gun Desk'' to reflect the inclusion
of ICE in the operation. Previously, the ``Gun Desk'' served as a
central repository for weapons-related intelligence information. ICE
personnel review weapon seizures received from multiple domestic and
foreign sources and coordinate with ATF personnel to link the seized
weapon information to active investigations. However, in August, ATF,
in coordination with EPIC, created the Special Projects Unit (SPU). ICE
has agreed to provide two analysts to this team. Now the SPU will serve
as the central repository for weapons-related intelligence and
information. ICE works closely with ATF to conduct outreach and
education for weapons dealers through the ATF Federal Firearms License
Inspections Program.
ICE Intel has been given access to E-trace, ATF's electronic
tracing tool. ICE personnel coordinate with ATF to proactively utilize
this tool to develop potential leads for investigative field agents. In
2006, ICE signed an E-trace memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ATF.
In addition, ICE has assigned personnel to the Watch Operations
Unit and the Southwest Border Unit at EPIC to coordinate with the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) on all drug-related issues.
Through Operation Archangel, ICE Intel partnered with DEA to
provide real-time intelligence to law enforcement on drug trafficking
operations along the southwest border. DEA and ICE share a strong
interest in stopping the unlawful flow of narcotics into the United
States. By harnessing DEA's expertise in enforcing controlled substance
laws and ICE's expertise in investigating the unlawful importation and
exportation of contraband, the agencies can most effectively dismantle
and disrupt trafficking organizations like those which are engaged in
violence along the Southwest Border.
On June 18, 2009, ICE and DEA entered into a new interagency
agreement to increase the number of agents targeting international drug
traffickers, improve and enhance information and intelligence sharing,
and promote effective coordination between the agencies. The
interagency agreement greatly strengthens the sharing of drug
intelligence and the coordination and deconfliction of drug enforcement
investigations. Under the new agreement, ICE will select special agents
for cross-designation by DEA. These ICE agents will be authorized to
investigate drug cases with a clear nexus to the U.S. borders or ports
of entry. On August 6, 2009, ICE also entered into an agreement to
participate in the Department of Justice's Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) fusion center. ICE's full participation
in the OCDETF Fusion Center will enable federal law enforcement
partners to more closely coordinate investigations. ICE and others will
also be able to share information about the seizure of money and other
contraband from those engaged in criminal conduct. This type of
information sharing enables the agencies to make important links
between these seizures and international drug trafficking
organizations.
ICE continually looks for ways to improve cooperation and
information sharing between partner law enforcement agencies.
Question 2.: ICE and DEA signed an MOU in June to ensure that law
enforcement efforts are more fully coordinated on investigations
involving firearms trafficking and related crimes.
What sort of formal mechanisms are ICE and DEA putting in place to
ensure that they coordinate and share information?
What additional steps, beyond the MOU, if any, do the agencies plan
to take to improve interagency coordination and cooperation?
What metrics will be used to assess implementation of the MOU?
Response: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are committed to information
sharing which will lead to the dismantling and disrupting of drug
trafficking organizations. The interagency cooperation agreement
between ICE and DEA signed on June 18, 2009, outlines formal mechanisms
that will ensure interagency coordination and information sharing. The
following are the formal mechanisms outlined in the agreement:
On August 6, 2009, ICE entered into an agreement to
participate in the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force
(OCDETF) Fusion Center (OFC) through which ICE will share and
coordinate investigative information with a number of agencies,
including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) and DEA. ICE will fully participate in and
staff the OCDETF OFC and the Special Operations Division (SOD).
ICE fully intends to participate and share information
to the same extent as other major federal partners in the OFC
and SOD. ICE has committed to sharing all investigative
reports, records, and subject indexing records from open and
closed investigations, including those related to drugs, money
laundering, bulk cash smuggling, and financial crimes, gangs,
and weapons.
CE has agreed to provide access to data related to all
seizures of money, drugs, and firearms, including date, type of
contraband, amount, place of seizure, and geospatial data when
known, at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC).
The attached memorandum of understanding (MOU)
stipulates that all entry level supervisors are responsible for
ensuring that personnel under their supervision fully de-
conflict and comply with the MOU.
The MOU also requires the establishment of a Title 21
Coordinator. ICE and DEA will select a Title 21 coordinator at
a level no lower than an assistant special agent in charge, for
each office. The Title 21 coordinator will ensure cooperation,
communication, coordination, and de-confliction for Title 21
matters affecting their respective offices.
ICE and DEA also will form a headquarters review team
comprised of senior managers from the respective agencies to
resolve de-confliction and coordination issues.
The agreement directs ICE and DEA to utilize
established local and regional de-confliction centers and/or
procedures prior to engaging in enforcement activity.
In addition to the formal mechanisms in the agreement, ICE plans to
improve interagency coordination and cooperation. These mechanisms
center on joint investigations and investigative task forces. ICE and
DEA routinely conduct joint investigations and combine resources
through established investigative task forces such as the Border
Enforcement Security Task Force ,the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, High Intensity
Financial Crimes Area, Panama Express, and Caribbean Corridor.
No metrics have been developed at this time; however, ICE will
continue to look at successes to measure joint partnerships. The new
agreement will reviewed after one year. Following that review, the
agreement will be reviewed every two years. The MOU is attached for
further clarification.
Question 3.: The 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics
Strategy contains some goals for agencies for combating firearms
trafficking but lacks details about how to accomplish those goals. GAO
recently reported that ONDCP said that an implementation plan for the
2009 Strategy, due some time this year, will contain details on how the
agencies should accomplish those goals.
What role are ATF and ICE playing in the creation of this
implementation plan?
What mechanisms will be put in place to ensure agencies are
accomplishing the goals outlined in the strategy and the detailed tasks
ONDCP stated will be laid out in the Strategy's implementation plan?
What are ATF and ICE's plans for funding any new activities or
efforts laid out in the Strategy, or in the forthcoming implementation
plan for the Strategy?
Response: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) participated
in drafting Chapter 7, ``Weapons,'' of the 2009 National Southwest
Border Counter Narcotics Strategy (NSBCNS). ICE and ATF led a working
group through the development and coordination of the specific chapter,
collected and consolidated all input and ensured consensus among
working group members for all material submitted. ICE and ATF also are
working with interagency partners on the strategy's implementation
process. The working group is also currently working on performance
measures for a strategy that will support future progress updates.
ICE has temporarily detailed, utilizing base funds, 110 special
agents from around the U.S., to various offices along the Southwest
Border and in Mexico City in support of Border Enforcement Security
Task Forces to combat weapons and bulk cash smuggling into Mexico. The
operation focuses on contraband, firearms, ammunition, undeclared U.S.
currency, stolen vehicles, and human smuggling among other things, at
and between ports of entry along the U.S./Mexico border. ICE recently
completed a spending plan for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 supplemental
resources to fund 110 permanent special agent positions along the
Southwest Border; these positions would replace the need for the 110
temporarily detailed special agents currently assigned there. ICE has
requested an additional $25 million in the fiscal year 2010 budget to
address arms, drugs, and cash smuggling along the southwest border that
is specifically called for in the 2009 NSBCNS. No other funding is
envisioned at this time.
In addition to the steps already mentioned, both ICE and ATF have
assigned Liaison Officers to the Office of National Drug Control Policy
who in turn are able to address all issues that impact the
implementation of the Southwest Border Strategy and the needs/
requirements of their respective agencies with ONDCP. ICE continually
looks for ways to improve cooperation and information sharing between
partner law enforcement agencies.
Question 4.: GAO's report (GAO-09-709) also recommended that ATF
and ICE improve their data on arms trafficking, including regarding
firearms trace data, assessments of southbound arms smuggling trends,
and the results of their efforts to combat arms trafficking.
What plans does ATF have for updating its reporting on aggregate
firearms trafficking data and trends?
Will ATF and ICE share comprehensive data and leverage each other's
expertise and analysis on future agency assessments, including DHS
assessments of southbound weapons smuggling trends?
How will ATF and ICE ensure the systematic gathering and reporting
of data related to results of their efforts to combat arms trafficking,
including firearms seizures, investigations, and prosecutions of
individuals involved in their investigations?
Response: On June 30, 2009, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) updated a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that
clearly establishes how the two agencies will work together on
investigations of international firearms trafficking and possession of
firearms by illegal aliens.
ICE defers to ATF to respond to the question regarding ATF's plans
to update its reporting on aggregate firearms trafficking data and
trends.
The MOU will optimize the resources and minimize the duplication of
efforts by each agency. This agreement establishes a framework for both
agencies to conduct investigations and share intelligence. ATF and ICE
routinely conduct joint investigations. This agreement clarifies the
notification process each agency is expected to follow while
investigating the international trafficking of firearms, ammunition,
explosives, weapons and munitions. Both agencies are committed to
working together to reduce firearms-related violence along the U.S.
border.
The ICE Office of Intelligence (Intel) provided ATF with the
Strategic Assessment: U.S. Southbound Weapons Smuggling for review and
comment prior to production. ICE Intel is currently updating the
Assessment and will provide it to ATF for review and comment. In
addition, ICE Intel continues to share products with ATF and other
partners at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC).
ICE is committed to working with ATF in the development of joint
intelligence assessments relevant to southbound weapons smuggling
trends. Intelligence sharing between ICE and ATF typically involves
exchanges of finished intelligence assessments and the routine daily
interaction of each agency's intelligence analyst personnel assigned to
EPIC's Special Projects Unit (SPU). Recognizing the need for increased
interaction, ICE has assigned a permanent full-time equivalent to the
SPU housed at EPIC which serves as the central repository for weapons-
related intelligence information. SPU personnel review reports of
weapons seizures, conduct research through ICE, ATF and EPIC data
resources, and link the seized weapons to active investigations and/or
reports of stolen or lost weapons. Intelligence collaboration between
ICE and ATF will assist in the production of joint tactical and
operational intelligence assessments that will result in significant
weapons-related investigations and prosecutions.
ICE continually looks for ways to improve cooperation and
information sharing between partner law enforcement agencies. ATF's
Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information maintains a good
ongoing collaborative relationship. Our analysts routinely collaborate
on matters of mutual interest through information sharing. At EPIC, ATF
and ICE make up a team dedicated to the collection, analysis and
dissemination of weapons-related intelligence and information. This
intelligence and information is shared with all partner agencies at
EPIC.
Question 5.: ICE and ATF signed an MOU at the end of June to ensure
that law enforcement efforts are more fully coordinated on
investigations involving firearms trafficking, drug trafficking, and
other serious crimes.
Recognizing that both ATF and ICE have a role in combating arms
trafficking to Mexico, will one agency assume a lead role on
investigations and efforts to combat arms trafficking to Mexico, or how
will efforts be organized?
What sort of formal mechanisms are ATF and ICE putting in place to
ensure that they coordinate and share information?
What additional steps, beyond the MOUs, if any, do the agencies
plan to take to improve interagency coordination and cooperation?
Response: The lead role for any investigation involving firearms,
drug trafficking and other serious crimes is contingent on many
circumstances including, but not limited to, international trafficking/
smuggling violations, sources of information, investigative activities
at the ports of entry, and federal firearms licensees. Since U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have complementary investigative
roles, they will work together to combat arms trafficking to Mexico.
The June 30, 2009, memorandum of understanding (MOU) between ICE and
ATF formalizes a partnership to promote effective, coordinated and
collective law enforcement efforts both nationally and internationally.
ATF's investigative jurisdiction is broad and includes
administration and enforcement of firearms and explosive laws and
regulations, to include investigating federal crimes involving the
possession, licensing, transportation, sale and receipt of firearms,
explosives, and ammunition, in interstate or foreign commerce.
ICE is responsible for the enforcement of export and smuggling
laws, including those pertaining to firearms. ICE enforces a number of
export- related laws, including 18 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 541-555 (customs),
19 U.S.C. Sec. 1627 (stolen vehicles), and 31 U.S.C. Sec. 5332 (bulk
cash smuggling). ATF is responsible for administration and enforcement
of the importation provisions of section 38 of the Arms Export Control
Act (AECA), relating to the importation of arms, ammunition, and
implements of war. ATF also enforces the Gun Control Act of 1968, the
National Firearms Act, Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968, and Title II of the Organized Crime Control Act of
1970. These statutes provide for ATF's administration and enforcement
of licensing, sales, possession and related domestic violations.
ICE has broad authority to enforce and investigate violations of
law governing the illegal export, and temporary import, of arms,
ammunition and implements of war, pursuant to the AECA, and its
implementing regulations. ICE has been provided with the authority to
investigate violations of the export provisions of AECA, as noted in 22
C.F.R. Sec. 127.4. Through the Export Administration Act (EAA), and its
implementing regulations, ICE has the authority to investigate, seize
and detain any export or attempted export of dual-use commodities. In
certain circumstances, ICE may also employ the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act or the Trading with the Enemy Act.
The 2009 MOU between ICE and ATF includes provisions within section
VI that delineate the steps to monitor the implementation of the MOU,
and to resolve interagency conflicts. Monitoring of the MOU's
implementation and the resolution of conflicts will begin at the lowest
possible level and will rely on the sound judgment of the ICE and ATF
special agents in charge to ensure deconfliction of issues or
activities in the field. In addition, the MOU establishes formal
guidelines to ensure that ICE and ATF will coordinate and share
information.
In those instances where competing equities prevent the field
elements from reaching a mutually satisfactory conclusion on any matter
under the purview of the MOU, the ICE Director, Office of
Investigations, and the ATF Assistant Director, Field Operations, will
adjudicate the conflict, if necessary.
ICE is committed to working with ATF to develop joint intelligence
assessments relevant to southbound weapons smuggling trends.
Intelligence sharing between ICE and ATF typically involves exchanges
of finished intelligence assessments and the routine daily interaction
of each agency's analysts assigned to the El Paso Intelligence Center
(EPIC) Special Projects Unit (SPU). Recognizing a need for increased
interaction, ICE has assigned a permanent analyst to EPIC's SPU, which
serves as a central repository for weapons-related intelligence
information. SPU personnel review reports of weapons seizures, conduct
research through ICE, ATF and EPIC data resources, and attempt to link
the seized weapons to active investigations and reports of stolen or
lost weapons. Intelligence collaboration in this manner between ICE and
ATF will assist in the production of joint tactical and operational
intelligence assessments that may result in significant weapons-related
investigations, and will serve as the basis for large-scale operations.
As previously noted ATF's Office of Strategic Intelligence and
Information and ICE's Office of Intelligence will continue to
collaborate and share intelligence and information.
ICE constantly looks for ways to improve cooperation and
information sharing between partners and law enforcement agencies. For
instance, ATF participates in several of ICE's Border Enforcement
Security Task Forces.
The MOU is attached for further clarification.
Questions from the Honorable Ann Kirkpatrick, a Representative in
Congress from the State of Arizona
Question 6.: The MOU states that ICE will invite the DEA to
participate in investigations involving Title 21 authority.
How will this participation work?
Would ICE remain the lead agency on the investigation?
Would the DEA have any authority to either change the course of the
investigation or take over the case?
Response: The Interagency Cooperation Agreement between U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) states that ICE will notify DEA of investigations
involving the exercise of Title 21 authority. Further, ICE will invite
DEA to participate in the Title 21 investigation. However, this
invitation provision does not apply to arrests and seizures at the
border or port of entry where no follow-up investigation is conducted.
The cognizant ICE and DEA special agent in charge (SAC) will determine
the manner of notification and invitation. An invitation from ICE to
DEA to participate in a Title 21 investigation will materialize through
individual joint investigations and through established interagency
task forces such as the Border Enforcement Security Task Force, the
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, the High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area , High Intensity Financial Crimes Area, Panama
Express, and Caribbean Corridor. The agreement states that ICE and DEA
will invite each other to participate in joint task forces.
ICE will remain the lead agency for investigations in which it
invites DEA to participate.
The issue of authority to either change the course of the
investigation or take over the case would be resolved by the following
process:
In the event non-exigent disputes over investigations
cannot be resolved by either the designated ICE and DEA Title
21 assistant special agent in charge (ASAC), or the respective
SAC's, then the ICE/DEA headquarters review team (HRT)
comprised of three senior managers from each agency will
resolve coordination issues.
In the event that a dispute cannot be resolved at
either the ASAC or SAC level, the DEA SAC will make a decision
and the agencies will act in accordance with that decision.
The MOU is attached for further clarification.\1\
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\1\ [The referemced MOU is maintained in the committee files.]
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Questions from the Honorable Loretta Sanchez, Chairwoman, Subcommittee
on Border, Maritime, and Global Coiunterterrorism
Responses from Anthony Placido
Question 1.: GAO recently reported (GAO-09-709) that there was a
lack of information sharing between ATF and ICE on firearms trafficking
issues at the El Intelligence Center (EPIC), which was established to
facilitate coordinated intelligence gathering and dissemination among
member agencies related to southwest border efforts to address drug,
alien, and weapons smuggling. Separately, GAO reported (GAO-09-63) that
ICE has not participated fully in DEA-operated intelligence centers,
which leaves them lacking an important source of information and
intelligence.
What steps are being taken to improve cooperation and information
sharing between ATF and ICE at EPIC and DEA and ICE at DEA-operated
intelligence centers?
Response: Under the June 18,2009, Interagency Cooperation Agreement
(ICA) between DEA and ICE, ICE has committed to sharing all
investigative reports, records, and subject indexing records from open
and closed investigations, including those related to drugs, money
laundering, bulk cash smuggling and financial crimes, gangs, and
weapons. DEA will continue to participate fully in and share all
information at the OCDETF Fusion Center (OFC) and Special Operations
Division (SOD).
ICE also agrees to provide, and will have access to, data related
to all seizures of money, drugs, and firearms, including date, type of
contraband, amount, place of seizure, and geo-spatial data, when known,
at the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC). DEA will continue sharing
this data at EPIC.
The EPIC Gun Desk serves as a central repository for weapons-
related intelligence information. Co-located ICE Office of Intelligence
(OINT) and ATF Gun Desks personnel review reports of weapons seizures,
which are acquired from multiple U.S. domestic and foreign law
enforcement sources. ATF and ICE Gun Desk analysts research the
reported weapon-related information through ICE, ATF and EPIC data
resources and attempt to link the seized weapons to ATF and other
agency investigations and reports of stolen or lost weapons.
The Border Violence Intelligence Cell (BVIC) at EPIC is a central
point within ICE to better support efforts to combat outbound weapons
smuggling and overall border violence along the United States-Mexico
Border. The BVIC produces strategic intelligence products that provide
partner agencies at EPIC and within the ICE Border Enforcement Security
Task Forces (BESTs) with a global view of the criminal activity fueling
acts of border violence. Plans are underway, which include facility
workspace modifications, to incorporate ICE personnel into the EPIC
Southwest Border Unit (currently comprised of DEA, FBI, CBP, ATF and
Texas DPS personnel) to enhance information and intelligence sharing.
ICE and DEA
Questions 2.: ICE and DEA signed an MOU in June to ensure that law
enforcement efforts are more fully coordinated on investigations
involving firearms trafficking and related crimes.
What sort of formal mechanisms are ICE and DEA putting in place to
ensure that they coordinate and share information?
Response: The ICA authorizes the Assistant Secretary for ICE to
select an unlimited number of ICE agents for cross-designation by the
Administrator of DEA whose duties include the investigation of
narcotics with a clearly articulable nexus to the borders or Ports of
Entry, including the transportation and staging activities within the
United States or between the source or destination country and the
United States. Deconfliction between DEA and ICE is paramount and
mandatory in investigations. ICE and DEA supervisors at every level are
responsible for ensuring personnel under their supervision fully
deconflict and comply with the interagency agreement.
DEA and ICE have established a Title 21 Coordinator position in
each division who will be the liaison for Title 21 investigations.
ICE will establish a Title 21 Coordinator in foreign locations
where ICE has an office. The Title 21 Coordinator will be the liaison
with the DEA office head in that country.
Both DEA and ICE committed to extensive information sharing in the
interagency agreement. ICE has committed to full participation in the
OCDETF Fusion Center and SOD. They will also provide seizure data to
EPIC, but have not committed to full staffing at EPIC. DEA will
continue to participate fully in and share all information at the
OCDETF Fusion Center and SOD.
The interagency agreement calls for use of existing regional
coordination centers in addition to locally agreed upon deconfliction
methods.
DEA is responsible for the coordination of all Federal drug
investigations to ensure deconfliction and compliance with all relevant
protocols. Through the Office of International Affairs (OIA) and its
ICE Attaches, ICE works with domestic and foreign counterparts to
identify and combat criminal organizations before they can adversely
impact the United States and to facilitate domestic ICE investigations
involving transnational criminal organizations, including drug
smuggling investigations. ICE Attaches are the Department of Homeland
Security's (DHS) investigative component in U.S. Embassies responsible
for coordinating operations within DHS and between DHS and other
Federal agencies regarding the interdiction of illegal drugs entering
the United States and investigating connections between illegal drug
trafficking and transnational criminal organizations. Accordingly, ICE
Attaches are responsible for coordinating and deconflicting any drug
enforcement activities with the DEA Attache or designee.
ICE and DEA have agreed upon establishment of a Headquarters Review
Team (HRT) to address coordination issues. In the field, the strategy
and manner of operational deconfliction will be left to the sound
discretion of DEA and ICE Special Agents in Charge (SACs) at the local
level.
Furthermore, the interagency agreement sets forth procedures for
both ICE and DEA to coordinate investigations. ICE and DEA will invite
each other to participate in each other's task forces. ICE will invite
DEA to participate in all ICE Title 21 investigations. DEA will notify
ICE if they are conducting a pass through operation. In addition, if
during the course of a Title 21 investigation in either the domestic or
foreign arena, if DEA determines that a case has a connection to alien
smuggling, nondrug-related international illicit financial schemes,
human trafficking, or significant quantities of counterfeit or other
nondrug contraband, DEA will notify and invite ICE to participate in
the investigation or refer these non-Title 21 offenses to ICE.
Question 3.: What additional steps, beyond the MOU, if any, do the
agencies plan to take to improve interagency coordination and
cooperation?
Response: The ICA provides for DEA and ICE Special Agents in Charge
(SACs) to agree on local coordination protocols which will implement
the terms of the ICA. They will also invite each other to participate
in the other's task forces when an investigation involves criminal
conduct falling under the jurisdiction of more than one agency. These
task forces include, but are not limited to, the OCDETF Strike Forces,
the BESTs, and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs).
These coordination procedures, when coupled with the strong information
sharing procedures, will greatly improve interagency relationships.
Question 4.: What will be used to assess implementation of the MOU?
Response: DEA and ICE will conduct a review of the ICA one year
after the initial effective date. The Headquarters Review Team provided
for in the ICA will also identify global issues so that they may be
addressed and resolved. Subsequent reviews will occur every two years
thereafter.
DEA
Question 5.: The DEA has the largest federal law enforcement
presence overseas. The MOU recognizes this presence by making clear
that DEA remains the ``single point of contact'' for drug
investigations in foreign countries. The MOU also makes cler, however,
that such a responsibility does not mean that DEA will supervise ICE's
investigative activities overseas.
Please describe foreign law enforcement activities and the
oversight you generally perform on the investigations of other
agencies, including ICE. How does the MOU change DEA's overseas
activities or oversight responsibilities?
Response: DEA has global responsibilities for enforcing U.S. drug
laws. As part of a Country Team within a U.S. embassy, DEA acts as the
focal point with foreign Iaw enforcement officials on drug law
enforcement operational and intelligence matters. This role assures
coordination, maximizes investigative effectiveness, promotes agents'
safety, and unifies the U.S. Government's drug control efforts
undertaken in foreign countries. However, ICE Attaches serve as DHS'
investigative component in U.S. embassies for coordinating policy and
operations within DHS and between DHS and other Federal agencies
regarding the interdiction of illegal drugs entering the U. S . and
investigating connections between illegal drug trafficking and
transnational criminal organizations.
The oversight by DEA is maintained by DEA ensuring: (a) that the
foreign extensions of all U.S. drug investigations are coordinated
properly within the U.S. embassy in the host country, as well as with
the relevant law enforcement authorities of that host country; and (b)
that the foreign extension of any U.S. drug investigation complies with
all relevant legal obligations and understandings of and between the
U.S. Government and the host country.
Operational foreign drug investigative activities require
coordination of those activities, between both the requesting agency
and DEA, as well as with the Ambassador and other relevant agencies. As
noted in the ICA, DEA does not directly supervise ICE's investigative
activities, direct the strategy or set the objectives of ICE
investigative matters. Instead, DEA's review of the planned foreign
drug investigative activities ensures the compliance discussed above
and prevents conflict with other ongoing investigative matters.
ICE may investigate drug smuggling cases with a clearly articulated
nexus to the U.S. borders. The investigation may take place abroad in
coordination with DEA. This agreement will continue to ensure the U.S.
Government speaks with one voice, while also expanding our
investigative efforts overseas.
Questions 6.:Under a 1996 MOU between the former Immigration and
Naturalization Service and the DEA, Border Patrol agents transfer drug
and related intelligence intercepted between the ports of entry to the
DEA. Many, including and DHS' Office of Counternarcotics, have
questioned whether this practice makes sense from an operational
standpoint, since ICE could be utilized to perform the same
investigation within the same department.
Will the Title 21 MOU between ICE and DEA affect Border operations?
Response: The DEA/ICE ICA does not change the existing procedure
between DEA and CBP (INS) as established in the MOU dated March 25,
1996.
Question 7.: Are there any plans to update the 1996 between Border
Patrol and DEA?
Response: There are no plans to update the 1996 at the present
time.
Questions from the Honorable Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01), Subcommittee on
Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism:
Question 1.: The MOU states that ICE will invite the DEA to
participate in investigations involving Title 21 authority.
How will this participation work?
Response: ICE will notify DEA of investigations involving the
exercise of Title 21 authority by contacting the appropriate DEA Title
21 Coordinator. The manner of notification will be determined by the
ICE and DEA SACs. As part of the notification, ICE will invite DEA to
participate in the investigation. Furthermore, the use of joint task
forces like the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
Strike Forces, the Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BESTs), and
the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) will also serve as a
mechanism for participation. Aside from ICE notification to DEA, DEA
will notify ICE if they are conducting a pass through operation. In
addition, if during the course of a Title 21 investigation in either
the domestic or foreign arena, if DEA determines that a case has a
connection to alien smuggling, nondrug-related international illicit
financial schemes, human trafficking, or significant quantities of
counterfeit or other nondrug contraband, DEA will notify and invite ICE
to participate in the investigation or refer these non-Title 21
offenses to ICE.
Question 2.: Would ICE remain the lead agency on the investigation?
Response: The Interagency Coordination Agreement (ICA) does not
specify which agency would be the lead agency in the event
investigations are of interest to both DEA and ICE. Therefore,
designation, if merited, of the lead agency will be made at the local
level and will be determined by the circumstances of the investigation,
including whether it relates to a long-term ongoing investigation
already in existence, whether the target organization is also engaging
in non-drug crimes (for example, alien smuggling) and whether
investigative resources available to each agency under non-exigent
circumstances. However, under exigent circumstances if the line
supervisors, the respective Title 21 coordinators and the DEA and ICE
SACs cannot resolve the conflict or issue, the DEA SAC will make a
decision and the agencies will act in accordance with the decision
followed by a written explanation within 48 hours which may be elevated
to a Headquarters Review Team (HRT).
Question 3.: Would the DEA have any authority to either change the
course of the investigation or take over the case?
Response: Both DEA and ICE bring independent expertise to a Title
21 investigation. Case direction should be determined by input of both
agencies. If a conflict arises which cannot be resolved locally, it may
be referred to the HRT for resolution. The HRT is comprised of three
senior managers from DEA and ICE, including the DEA Chief of Operations
and the ICE Director of Investigations. The DEA Chief of Operations
chairs the HRT and the ICE Director of Investigations is the vice
chair. While the HRT has not convened to date, the HRT will resolve
disputes by majority vote. If the HRT is unable to resolve the issue
arising under the ICA by majority vote, the DEA Chief of Operations
will provide a decision which ICE may appeal to the agency heads.