Border Security

The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the District of Arizona has experienced a dramatic increase in resources to investigate and prosecute border-related crimes. The number of AUSA positions in the District of Arizona has increased by 62% in the past 10 years.

The increase in resources followed a dramatic increase in the number of U.S. Border Patrol and other federal law enforcement agents in Arizona since 1995. The Border Patrol employs over 60 percent of the more than 6,400 federal law enforcement agents in Arizona.

The USAO works closely with its federal law enforcement partners to police the border through the use of reactive drug and immigration prosecutions while at the same time confronting the criminal organizations operating on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Although Arizona’s 389-mile border with Mexico largely defines the district’s caseload, the caseload is as diverse as the many communities in Arizona.

The USAO also handles cases ranging from firearms trafficking to fraud relating to tribal gaming, and from bank robberies to theft of artifacts, protected plants, wildlife and cultural resources, as well as violent crime in Indian Country and mortgage fraud.