U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Ryan Ellison as the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. United States District Judge Margaret Strickland swore in Mr. Ellison on April 18, 2025.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of New Mexico in this role,” said Mr. Ellison. “For however long I serve as United States Attorney, my primary objective will be to keep New Mexicans safe through the vigorous enforcement of Federal law. Under my leadership, the United States Attorney’s Office will do its part to stem the unlawful flow of people and drugs into our country. We will also not lose sight of our responsibility to combat violent crime, gang activity, child predators, and to zealously advocate on behalf of the United States’ civil interests. Together with our federal, tribal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the United States Attorney’s Office will work tirelessly to make New Mexico a safer place to live, work, raise a family, and run a business. And we will make New Mexico a far less attractive place to commit a crime.”
Mr. Ellison, who was born and raised in Alamogordo, New Mexico, graduated from the University of Arizona with a business degree in 2010. He earned his Juris Doctor and MBA from Texas Tech University in 2013. Since 2018, Mr. Ellison has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico in the Las Cruces Branch Office, and most recently held the role of Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney of the Violent and General Crimes Section.
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As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Mr. Ellison prosecuted members of the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (“SNM”) prison gang. To date, prosecutors have charged more than 175 SNM gang members and associates with serious federal crimes, making the ongoing SNM prosecution the largest criminal case ever brought in the District of New Mexico. He also investigated and prosecuted other violent crimes, including VICAR murder, RICO conspiracy, carjacking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, murder-for-hire, and various firearms, immigration, and national security offenses.
Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Ellison worked as an Assistant District Attorney in the 47th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Texas and served as an associate attorney in private practice.
As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Ellison oversees federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation involving the United States in the District of New Mexico. He leads a dedicated team of over 150 prosecutors and support professionals, with offices located in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. The District of New Mexico includes 33 counties and shares a 180-mile international border with Mexico. It is home to five National Forests, four major military installations, two National Laboratories, 19 pueblos, two Apache tribes, and one-third of the Navajo Nation.