More feds headed to border to quell drug violence
By EILEEN SULLIVAN and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers – 2 hrs 30 mins ago
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office said it had not received official notice of the reassignment of federal agents and could not comment.
WASHINGTON – Seeking to stanch the flow of drugs, guns and violence saturating the Mexico-U.S. border, the Obama administration is preparing to send more federal agents as reinforcements.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is sending 37 agents to the region, while the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency may reassignment at least 90 officers to the border, and official familiar with the plan said. The official requested anonymity because the plan has not yet been announced.
The deployments are part of President Barack Obama's first moves to boost federal security on the U.S. side of the border.
The additional immigration agents could double the size of an ongoing ICE task force that has been working with other federal agencies to fight the criminal organizations contributing to the border violence.
The ATF agents will be added to anti-gunrunning teams in McAllen, Texas; El Centro, Calif.; and Las Cruces, N.M., as well as to U.S. consulates in Juarez and Tijuana. Some of the reinforcement costs will be covered with economic recovery money recently approved by Congress.
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