The Hill News

As the $600 million border-security bill awaits President Barack Obama’s signature, the Department of Justice (DoJ) outlined Thursday where it would be spending the $196 million it is slated to receive.

The agency plans on creating and filling 400 new permanent positions and 220 temporary ones in connection with its Southwest Border Strategy.

Specifically, the DoJ said it would be creating 26 new positions to review wiretapping and extradition requests, along with more than 20 new deputy U.S. Marshals to support cross-border investigations from both Mexico and El Paso, Texas.

The DoJ also announced the creation of seven new Project Gunrunner teams under the supervision of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives aimed at combating weapons traffickers.

The agency plans to add 50 new positions dedicated to increasing gathering intelligence on drug cartels that operate on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Additionally, five new “Hybrid Squads” under the FBI are scheduled to be deployed to combat violent crime along the border.

The DoJ is also planning to designate more than 30 prosecutors along the border region to ensure the speedy and thorough prosecution of illegal weapon, cash and drug traffickers.

Some of the additional funding is scheduled to go towards bolstering Mexican law enforcement operations with ballistic analysis, DNA analysis and information sharing efforts.