U.S. Attorney Uballez Announces Selection of MMIP Assistant US Attorney for SW Region

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico Alexander M.M. Uballez, announced the selection of Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Eliot Neal as the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) AUSA for the Southwest Region, which encompasses the Districts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona. AUSA Neal is one of five MMIP AUSAs who will provide specialized support to United States Attorneys’ offices to address and combat the issues of MMIP. This support includes assisting in the investigation of unresolved MMIP cases and related crimes, and promoting communication, coordination, and collaboration among federal, Tribal, local, and state law enforcement and non-governmental partners on MMIP issues.

Eliot was selected for the MMIP AUSA position based on his background and experience, as well as his proven success in his position as the District’s Tribal Liaison to the Mescalero Apache Tribe. Eliot’s innate ability to develop positive professional and personal relationships with everyone and anyone makes him the perfect person to move seamlessly into this new position.

Eliot grew up in Wilson, Wyoming, at the foot of the Teton mountain range, a historical crossroads for the Crow, Gros Ventre, Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Bannock, Eastern Shoshone, and Sheep Eaters tribes. Close to the modern-day Wind River and Fort Hall reservations, Eliot gained exposure at a young age to both the cultural significance and beauty of Indian Country, as well as the many hardships and challenges faced by Indigenous Americans.

After attending Middlebury College for his undergraduate degree and law school at Emory University, Eliot began his legal career with Cooley LLP in Palo Alto, California. There, Eliot worked in the business litigation group, focusing primarily on securities litigation for large public technology companies. Fueled by a desire to serve the public on a more personal level, Eliot then left securities litigation and became an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico in the Las Cruces Branch Office in 2022.

Since he joined the USAO, Eliot has worked on a wide variety of cases including child exploitation, gun crimes, and Indian Country crimes. Most recently, Eliot was asked to serve as the District’s Tribal Liaison to the Mescalero Apache Tribe. In that capacity, Eliot reestablished the District’s relationship with Mescalero after a fifteen-year lapse and has made it one of the strongest government-to-government relationships between the District and tribal leadership in the state. In his role as a Tribal Liaison, Eliot has gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of the issues threatening tribal communities—in particular persistent cycles of physical and sexual violence, drug and alcohol addiction, and poverty, all of which have outsized impacts on small, tight-knit families and communities—and ways the U.S. Attorney’s Office can better serve tribal communities and bring about justice.

“I am excited to be joining the Department of Justice’s response to the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous persons,” said Eliot. “After losing my own brother, I know how devastating it is to have a loved one taken from you. In my new role, I will do everything I can to help bring about closure and justice to those impacted by the MMIP crisis. I look forward to working with tribal and law enforcement partners throughout the Southwest region and can’t wait to get to work!”