Bingaman Urges Administration to Crack Down on Vehicle Smuggling Across US-Mexico Border

Press Release

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to strengthen efforts aimed at addressing the smuggling of stolen motor vehicles from the United States into Mexico.

Vehicles stolen from cities and towns in border states are often illegally brought into Mexico. Nationwide, seven of the 10 metropolitan statistical areas with the worst motor vehicle losses are on, or along, our border with Mexico. New Mexico has the highest non-recovery rate in the country for stolen vehicles and the city of Albuquerque ranks number eight in the nation in motor vehicle thefts.

In a letter today to Secretary Janet Napolitano, Bingaman requested that the DHS take steps to enhance its efforts to identify and interdict stolen motor vehicles being smuggled into Mexico.

"In addition to raising auto insurance premiums for consumers, motor vehicle theft is increasingly undertaken by organized criminal networks, including narco-trafficking groups. These groups use stolen vehicles to transport narcotics, weapons, and drug proceeds, as well as to finance their illicit activities. Addressing motor vehicle theft will not only have a positive impact in terms of the reduction of car insurance and local crime rates, but also on the disruption of transnational criminal enterprises that are responsible for thousands of deaths in Mexico and the trafficking of drugs in the United States," Bingaman wrote.

In particular, Bingaman urged DHS to: (1) deploy License Plate Readers (LPRs) at outbound inspection stations at all of the international ports of entry in New Mexico and El Paso; (2) utilize other appropriate technology, such as cameras and computer systems; (3) increase cooperation and intelligence sharing with local and state law enforcement to address this issue in a more coordinated manner; and (4) work with Mexico to recover more stolen vehicles.

"In partnership with state and local law enforcement, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers play a vital role in interdicting stolen vehicles that are bound for Mexico. In order to better address this problem, however, we need to bolster our efforts and enhance cooperation between federal, state, local and Mexican authorities," Bingaman wrote.

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