DOJ, HSI Could Better Track Illegal Gun Export, Smuggling Efforts From US Into Mexico, GAO Says

The Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations can do more to track, analyze and disrupt illegal smuggling of guns into Mexico, the Government Accountability Office said in a March 24 report. The GAO said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives often receives incomplete data on thousands of U.S.-origin guns recovered in Mexican states, and said “additional data and analysis” by HSI “could enhance U.S. efforts to understand firearms sources and smuggling routes.” As a result, both agencies are “unable to assess” their progress toward stopping illegal gun exports and haven’t “fully developed performance measures” for those efforts.

ATF officials told GAO that its lack of data is partly due to the fact that its investigations and data systems focus only on “violations within its authorities,” which don’t include illegal exports. GAO said the agency plans to begin tracking illegal export data as part of an initiative started last year. And while HSI analyzes data on firearms intended for Mexico and seized in the U.S., GAO said the agency doesn’t analyze data on U.S. guns recovered in Mexico, which could help it better understand smuggling trends.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said gun trafficking to Mexico has “spiraled out of control” and suggested he would support legislation to address the smuggling. “Congress must move quickly to crack down on the illegal trafficking of American-made firearms through our southern border,” Meeks said March 24.