Thread: Prosecution of illegal entrants hits Tucson

Tucson Region
Prosecution of illegal entrants hits Tucson
By Arthur H. Rotstein
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.14.2008

A program aimed at deterring illegal border crossings by prosecuting a select number of apprehended entrants will expand today to cover the busiest illicit entry sector on the U.S.-Mexican border.
Until now, the majority of illegal entrants caught in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector have been voluntarily returned to Mexico. Now, 40 entrants will be prosecuted each weekday under the sector's zero-tolerance program.
"Based on the success in other locations and other prosecutorial initiatives that we have, we know that the impact of time served has a deterrent effect on illegal entrants and on recidivists too," said Robert Boatright, chief deputy patrol agent in the Tucson Sector. The sector covers all but a small part of the Arizona-Mexico border.
The Border Patrol initiated the first such program in the area around Del Rio, Texas, in December 2005, this one targeting illegal entrants from countries other than Mexico. It added the Yuma area in December 2006 to decrease border violence and moved on to Laredo, Texas, a few months ago.
In November, officials in the Tucson Sector said they wanted to mirror the successes of the operations in other sectors, hoping to prosecute 100 illegal entrants daily.
But the strain that added prosecutions will put on other parts of the justice system will limit the program's startup to 40 cases each weekday.
The number likely will hit 60 eventually, still only a small portion of those caught.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector caught 378,000 illegal entrants in the past fiscal year, an average of more than 1,000 a day. In contrast, there were fewer than 23,000 apprehensions all year in Del Rio, 38,000 in Yuma, and fewer than 57,000 in Laredo.
Even with only 40 prosecutions a day, expenses likely will add up to millions of dollars a year for housing, transporting, prosecuting and defending those charged.
While a higher number of arrests clearly occur daily in the Tucson Sector, trying to prosecute many more on a daily basis would overwhelm the system, various federal officials said.
"It's going to have an impact on the court pretty dramatically once it reaches what its full plan is," said Richard Weare, clerk of the U.S. District Court for Arizona.
The impact will range from requiring magistrate judges to be available and finding enough qualified private lawyers to help represent the bulk of defendants to sufficient interpreters and added court staffing prosecutors.
Also, the added prisoners will clog or possibly overflow the Tucson courthouse's holding facilities, which hold only 80 prisoners now.
They will require additional marshals for courtroom and cellblock operations and will rapidly fill vacant beds in federal detention centers in Arizona and other states, fueling added prisoner transportation and housing costs.
"It's going to have a tremendous impact, there's no question about it," said David Gonzales, U.S. marshal for Arizona.
Heather Williams, first assistant federal public defender in Tucson, said her office will provide two trial attorneys daily, each to represent six illegal-entrant defendants.
Attorneys for the other 28 defendants will be appointed from a court-approved list of private attorneys at a congressionally approved cost of $100 an hour.
The program will cost about $2,600 a day from her office's budget. Court costs for the other defense lawyers will total another $7,200 to $8,000 daily, she said.
If cases are heard 50 weeks a year, defense costs will approach $2.5 million a year.
Those arrested for the first time typically receive sentences of 15 days to six months under the program used elsewhere.
arizona
100 Comments on this story

http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/220405

Thanks

cvangel
ALIPAC Hero

for the Border Patrol Update!

Now, 40 entrants will be prosecuted each weekday under the sector's zero-tolerance program

It's about time

I think they need to start a tent city like sheriff Joe's and have all the IA's judged together with one judge and one attorney which is more then we would get as an IA in Mexico. It sure would save on cost.

I mean what is so hard about this and what kind of defense do they have? If they are being held as IA's and would normally just be sent home anyway what is there to defend ?

The Border Patrol initiated the first such program in the area around Del Rio, Texas, in December 2005, this one targeting illegal entrants from countries other than Mexico. It added the Yuma area in December 2006 to decrease border violence and moved on to Laredo, Texas, a few months ago.

Why other then Mexico? What agreement has been made that allows profiling and we all know we can not profile.......