| Invalid Litter Dept. | |
| Cover: | At the Drive-In - Invalid Litter Dept. cover.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | At the Drive-In |
| Album: | Relationship of Command |
| Released: | 12 March 2001 (UK) |
| Genre: | Post-hardcore, emo |
| Length: | 6:07 |
| Label: | Grand Royal / Virgin VUS193 (UK, 7-inch) VUSCD193 (UK, CD1) VUSDX193 (UK, CD2) |
| Producer: | Ross Robinson |
| Prev Title: | Rolodex Propaganda |
| Prev Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | Governed by Contagions |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
"Invalid Litter Dept." is a song by American rock band At the Drive-In, released in 2001 as the third single from the album Relationship of Command. The CD release in March 2001 came in a variety of international formats, including the standard two CDs in the United Kingdom. The Australian release included the UK B-sides from the two CD releases. "Invalid Litter Dept." is the band's highest charting single in the UK, peaking at No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart[1] and No. 47 on the Scottish Singles Chart.[2]
The song's lyrics and music video deal with the Juárez femicides, a series of rapes and murders in Ciudad Juárez, México, of young women who worked in factories called maquiladoras. Cd. Juárez is located just across the U.S.-Mexican border from El Paso, Texas, At the Drive-In's home town. The song explicitly criticizes the federales, or the Mexican Federal Police, for their lack of response to these cases.
"Lamacq version" tracks originally broadcast on BBC Radio 1's The Evening Session with Steve Lamacq, week beginning 11 September 2000, and produced/mixed by Simon Askew.