New Mexico Laws and Programs

New Mexico is a major site for transshipment of illegal drugs from Mexico that are then transported all over the United States. The drug trade in New Mexico is facilitated by the state's long, sparsely populated border (180 miles) with Mexico, which has few barriers to entry in either direction; the presence of several interstate highways (I-40, I-10, [Page 576]and I-25); and the fact that the state is both large and sparsely populated. The law enforcement situation is further complicated by the presence of several Native American reservations and a high proportion of Hispanic residents in the state, which makes it easy for traffickers from Mexico to blend in with the local population. Immigration and drug cases place a major load on the federal judicial ...