Mexican Ambassador Reports Decrease in Violence on Mexico/NM Border In Letters to NM Senators

Press Release

Focus Turns to Restoring Commerce, Extending Santa Teresa Hours

U.S. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman today said they are pleased the Mexican government is committed to addressing violence along the New Mexico-Mexico border, as well as restoring commerce on the border by, among other things, increasing operating hours at the Santa Teresa port of entry.

In a letter from Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan, the New Mexico lawmakers received assurances this week that coordinated law enforcement efforts have noticeably reduced violent crime along the border, which reached its peak in early May.

Citing continuing efforts by federal, state, and municipal Mexican law enforcement authorities, Sarukhan informed Domenici and Bingaman that the organized crime violence in the Mexican border city of Palomas has diminished due to narcotics and firearms seizures and city access checkpoints. Sarukhan indicated that Mexican authorities would continue their increased and coordinated efforts for as long as the situation warranted.

"I am relieved to hear that the violence has begun to subside and I thank Ambassador Sarukhan and Mexican authorities for quickly addressing the violence before it had the chance to flare into an even more threatening situation. I will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure that the safety of New Mexicans living in Columbus and nearby areas is in no way endangered," said Domenici, who serves on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

"Violence along the border has been detrimental to both countries and I applaud the Mexican government's quick actions to address this critical issue. I will continue to work with Ambassador Sarukhan and the Mexican government to ensure the safety of those living on the border," Bingaman said.

Sarukhan also noted in his letter that, while the law enforcement efforts have been successful in reducing crime violence, commercial activity in the area has suffered and the number of legal border crossings have declined. The Ambassador called for coordinated U.S.-Mexico efforts to enhance border security while preserving commercial prosperity along the shared border.

Ambassador Sarukhan's June letters to Domenici and Bingaman followed a number of conversations that took place between Sarukhan and the Senators in the aftermath of May's violence regarding the coordination of U.S. and Mexican efforts to quickly quash criminal activity along the border. In May, Sarukhan pledged that the Mexican government would move Army personnel and equipment to Palomas, where at least six people were killed in May. Palomas is the sister city to Columbus, N.M.

In May, Domenici and Bingaman also sent letters of concern to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, urging them to take appropriate actions to prevent violence from spilling across the border from Palomas.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implemented a 24-hour a day outbound operation to swiftly interdict weapons and disrupt the criminal activity in the Columbus region and in Palomas. In support of the operation, ICE also deployed additional Special Agents to help carry out heightened safety measures along the border.

In order to improve commerce between New Mexico and Mexico, Sarukhan in a separate letter to the Senators outlined a proposed pilot program to extend business hours for commercial traffic at the Santa Teresa border crossing by four hours. In coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Control (CBP), Mexican Customs is willing to initiate the pilot program which would begin in September 2007 and would increase operating hours to help boost high priority trade between the United States and Mexico.

"The extension of business hours at the Santa Teresa border crossing would be an important step in facilitating commerce between our two countries. I will work with my Customs and Border Protection counterparts to ensure this opportunity to stimulate trade is explored and implemented," said Domenici.

"I have long pushed to extend operational hours at the Santa Teresa port of entry. It would be a great boost to the state's economy and I am encouraged to have the support of our neighbor to the south," Bingaman said.

Domenici and Bingaman began pushing to increase the port hours at Santa Teresa in 2004 and ultimately negotiated an agreement with CBP to extend hours as part of a pilot project to see if the increased hours would result in increased traffic. Implementation of the port hour extension has since been pending negotiations with the Mexican government to coordinate an increase in hours at their companion port.

In 2006, at Domenici's request, CBP submitted a report on resources allocated to the Santa Teresa port of entry. This included an analysis of the impact of expanding the hours of operations from 10 hours per day to 16 hours per day.

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