Author(s): Rene Pena & Isidro Alaniz

The Border Prosecution Unit, or “BPU” as it has come to be known, is a history-making initiative involving the Texas Department of Public Safety and each of the district attorneys in the border jurisdictions of Texas. Stretching from El Paso to Brownsville and covering forty-four counties along and adjacent to the Rio Grande, the BPU encompasses a network of sixteen Texas district attorney offices. In each of these offices, an assistant district attorney is assigned to handle a specialized caseload of border crime cases.

The genius of the BPU program is the close collaboration, communication and coordination it has promoted between state prosecutors and the Texas Department of Public Safety. BPU lawyers work with their DPS counterparts on a daily basis to identify and disrupt the criminal organizations operating in our border region. Indeed, one of El Paso County’s assistant prosecutors is housed at the DPS regional offices, providing continuous hands-on legal assistance to our state law enforcement professionals. The same arrangement exists in DPS’s Laredo regional office, and soon in its McAllen office
as well.

As successful as this program has proven to be, a champion was needed in Austin to make sure it received the necessary support to continue the fight against those who would threaten our border communities. Working closely with El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza and his border colleagues, Representative Dee Margo became that champion in a legislative session where the message in Austin was that we must do more with less. He
secured permanent statutory authorization for BPU as the House sponsor of SB 1649 by Senator Kirk Watson.

Additionally, Mr. Margo successfully sought continuation funding for BPU. He also made sure DPS had the necessary tools to carry out its mission. For his hard work and determined efforts, the borderlands of Texas owe him a great debt of gratitude.