EXCLUSIVE — Authorities in West Texas have begun to see illegal immigrants aiding criminal networks in the stealing of truckloads of valuable oil and materials from the nation’s largest oilfields in the Permian Basin.

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), whose district spans 800 miles of the Texas border, organized federal and local law enforcement in the region Friday to come up with a plan of attack as the largest U.S. oilfield, the Permian Basin, continues to get hit by thieves. The matter is not only a border security matter but an energy security problem.