State gets $2.6M for border security

New Mexico will receive $2.6 million in grant money for border security under the federal government’s “Operation Stonegarden” program.

The money will help improve coordination among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies along the southwest border, said Gov. Bill Richardson in a news release.

“This additional funding will allow us to enhance our border security, and I am pleased that New Mexico is one of four states to receive this grant,” Richardson said.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the grant funds during the sixth annual Border Security Conference this week at the University of Texas in El Paso.

The grant supplements money approved for New Mexico in June through Operation Stonegarden, which is funded through the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2009.

Border states are receiving additional funding based on their level of risk, heavy cross-border traffic and border-related threat intelligence. More than 84 percent of the fiscal year 2009 funds will go to the southwest border, up from 59 percent in FY 2008.

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