Earlier this week, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and State (DOS) announced that senior officials of the United States-Mexico High-Level Consultative Commission on Telecommunications (HLCC) have just signed a bilateral agreement that will support the creation of a new cross-border communications network for law enforcement and public safety officials to use to strengthen border security.

This agreement, signed on September 2, established a bilateral working group in which DHS and Mexico’s Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) will coordinate the installation and operation of the communications network. Participating safety and law enforcement officers will be able to coordinate cross-border collaboration on incident response and other aspects of law enforcement through voice, data and video means.