Federal Immigration Prosecutions Hit Record Levels
A relatively new border enforcement strategy titled Operation Streamline has dramatically increased criminal prosecutions of immigration violators, pushing the numbers to an all time high. Under the program, federal law enforcement agencies are now prosecuting virtually every person caught illegally crossing some stretches of the United States - Mexico border, even though the charges may only amount to a misdemeanor.
Deterrence is the Goal
Before Operation Streamline was initiated, Mexican citizens caught at the border were usually just fingerprinted and sent back to their homeland without being charged with anything. With federal agents now taking a zero-tolerance approach, officials hope that by being imprisoned and getting a criminal record, a strong message will be sent for people to think twice before immigrating illegally. “The overall goal is to deter immigrants from entering the United States illegally and instead proceed through the proper channels,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff.
Critics Say the Program is consuming too many Resources
Not everyone is giving praise to the federal government for its implementation of the program. According to some critics, the program seems to be consuming too many resources. “Operation Streamline in its current form already strains the capabilities of the law enforcement system past the breaking point,” Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, said. Wagoner also pointed out that there is a huge shortage of jail beds and federal public defenders in areas where the program is operating.
Others note that it is simply poor policy by criminalizing illegal immigration and in turn ignoring the role of employers who provide the jobs that lure immigrants. “This strategy pretty much has it backwards,” T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council said. “It’s going after desperate people who are crossing the border in search of a better way of life, instead of going after employers who are hiring people who have no right to work in this country,” he said.
Expansion Intended
In one of the nation’s hotspots for illegal immigration, authorities in Tucson, Arizona have launched a modified version of the program that they hope to expand in coming months. Chief Judge John Roll of the United States District Court of Arizona said that since January, authorities from Homeland Security departments and the federal courts have worked closely to increase immigration prosecutions. They are currently prosecuting 70 cases a day and hope to reach 100 per day by September. Reaching the 100-case-a-day goal would nearly triple the court’s workload, to more than 20,000 cases. Despite the huge number of prosecutions that effort would address only about 5 percent of the apprehensions made in Tucson last year.
According to Homeland Security, Operation Streamline is now applied in parts of Texas and Arizona, but, it will be soon expanded across other parts of the border too.