Crackdown on illegal crossers bogs down courts, jails
June 3rd, 2008 @ 11:09am
by Sandra Haros/KTAR

``Operation Streamline" has become a warning for foreigners trying to sneak into the United States, but the U.S. Marshal for Arizona, David Gonzalez, says the program is bogging down the courts and jail systems in cities like Tucson.

``It is a deterrent for people coming into the U.S. illegally, and the word has spread that if you come in here, you're going to go to jail," Gonzalez says. ``And the other side of that coin is that we're trying to work with, in the U.S. Marshal Service and the court system, the sheer number of prisoners."

By September, Gonzalez says he expects about 100 more illegals a day to be arrested under Operation Streamline, which calls for the arrest of anyone caught crossing illegally and automatically tacks on federal charges and possible jail time.

Gonzalez said ``Operation Streamline" is a good program, but is taxing resources.

``The bed space available in the state and also the number of deputies available to handle those prisoners. The courthouse in Tucson was not designed for that many prisoners. We are working with the courts, the Border Patrol, to find a way to handle the sheer amount of prisoners that are being arrested."

He adds, ``Over the years, Homeland Security and Border Patrol have been built up so much with their personnel and equipment on the border, while the rest of the system designed to handle those prisoners, has not. We are getting additional resources to assist the Border Patrol, but it just takes a long time."




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