McAllen

The McAllen Division is located within view of the Rio Grande River and the border with Mexico. Given its proximity to the border, the Rio Grande Valley area is a major drug and alien smuggling gateway and transportation route into the interior of the United States from South America, Central America and Mexico and a major firearms and ammunition route into Mexico. The McAllen Division covers Hidalgo and Starr counties which include a 175-mile stretch of international border and nine ports of entry. The vibrant McAllen/Mission/Edinburg metropolitan area consistently ranks as one of the fastest growing population centers in the nation and is home to an international airport and a large regional university.

Most criminal cases involve drugs, firearms, child exploitation or aliens, although attorneys also handle white collar crimes such as health care fraud, bank fraud, document fraud, counterfeit goods, money laundering, counterfeit currency and other matters. If the McAllen Division were its own United States Attorney’s Office, it would consistently rank in the top 10 nationally for felony indictments and misdemeanor complaints handled.

The general criminal attorneys also lend support and trial expertise to other sections within the office such as terrorism and national security, public corruption and health care fraud. The OCDETF attorneys handle long term investigations into criminal narcotics trafficking organizations operating in the United States and Mexico, and the asset recovery attorneys routinely forfeit large monetary amounts, sometimes exceeding $1 million, while the civil attorneys represent the United States in a broad range of civil litigation including, employment discrimination, torts and condemnation.

Despite being one of the busiest offices in the nation, the work is accomplished at a feverish pace with tight deadlines, but also with a spirit of closeness and collegiality among the attorneys and staff.