On 500th Day Of Trump Administration, Attorney General Sessions Announces 311 New Assistant United States Attorney Positions

SAN JUAN, PR – On the 500th day of the Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emlia Rodríguez-Vélez announced that the Department of Justice is taking a dramatic step to increase resources to combat violent crime, enforce our immigration laws, and help roll back the devastating opioid crisis.

In the largest increase in decades, the Department of Justice is allocating 311 new Assistant United States Attorneys to assist in priority areas. Those allocations are as follows: 190 violent crime prosecutors, 86 civil enforcement prosecutors, and 35 additional immigration prosecutors. Many of the civil enforcement AUSA’s will support the newly created Prescription Interdiction & Litigation Task Force which targets the opioid crisis at every level of the distribution system.

“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, the Department of Justice is going on offense against violent crime, illegal immigration, and the opioid crisis—and today we are sending in reinforcements,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. “We have a saying in my office that a new federal prosecutor is ‘the coin of the realm.’ When we can eliminate wasteful spending, one of my first questions to my staff is if we can deploy more prosecutors to where they are needed. I have personally worked to re-purpose existing funds to support this critical mission, and as a former federal prosecutor myself, my expectations could not be higher. These exceptional and talented prosecutors are key leaders in our crime fighting partnership. This addition of new Assistant U.S. Attorney positions represents the largest increase in decades.”

In the District of Puerto Rico, five of these AUSAs will focus on violent crime, and one on civil enforcement.

            “The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico is grateful to Attorney General Sessions and the leadership at the United States Department of Justice for the allotment of these six new Assistant United States Attorney positions. The Department of Justice has recognized, through the allocation of these positions, the significance of the violent crime problem on our island. They have also shown great confidence in our Office by placing these valuable department resources in a place where they are both desperately needed and greatly appreciated,” said US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.

# # #