Organized crime groups that coordinate across national borders have a presence in “every city across the United States,” a Homeland Security Department official said during a congressional hearing Tuesday.
Janice Ayala, the director of Joint Task Force – Investigations, made the comment while testifying at a House Border and Maritime Subcommittee hearing on border security task forces. She was asked by Chairwoman Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., to comment on the presence of transnational criminal organizations within the United States.
Ayala noted that she probably could not go into specifics statistics, city by city, in a public hearing setting. She stressed that the joint task force, which is a DHS effort that provides support for criminal investigations aimed at taking down transnational criminal organizations, is “pursuing every element” of transnational criminal organizations from an international network standpoint.
“They’re everywhere. We have transnational criminal organizations in every city across the United States,” Ayala said. “We’re working to minimize their impact in all of the cities.”
Asked if there is anything Congress can do to assist with JTF-I’s operations to combat cartels within the United States, Ayala said the focus should not be placed solely on adding to the number of border patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations and Coast Guard officials.
“Sometimes we look at it in stovepipes,” she said, speaking to the oversight of support infrastructure to help these investigators.
A more “holistic approach” would also include adding on more analysts, including forensic auditors and financial experts and shoring up the court system.
