Thread: More Illegal Crossings Are Criminal Cases, Group Says

June 18, 2008
More Illegal Crossings Are Criminal Cases, Group Says
By JULIA PRESTON

Criminal prosecutions of immigrants by federal authorities surged to a record high in March, as immigration cases accounted for the majority — 57 percent — of all new federal criminal cases brought nationwide that month, according to a report published Tuesday by a nonpartisan research group.

Immigration cases also made up more than half of new federal prosecutions in February, reflecting a major emphasis on immigration by the Bush administration and a policy shift to expand the use of criminal, rather than civil, charges in its efforts to curb illegal immigration.

In March, according to the report, narcotics cases, the next largest category, were 13 percent of new prosecutions by the Justice Department. The third-largest category, weapons cases, were 5 percent.

The report, by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a data analysis organization affiliated with Syracuse University, was based on figures from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for United States Attorneys. The group obtained the figures through the Freedom of Information Act.

The record number of 9,350 new immigration prosecutions in March was part of a “highly unusual surgeâ€

Copy of the TARC Report
http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/188/

Criminal prosecutions of immigrants by federal authorities surged to a record high in March, as immigration cases accounted for the majority — 57 percent — of all new federal criminal cases brought nationwide that month, according to a report published Tuesday by a nonpartisan research group.

Immigrants weren't prosecuted by federal authorities, illegal aliens were prosecuted. This so-called "nonpartisan research group" can't tell the difference?

Immigration lawyers have warned that the widespread application of criminal charges has resulted in overly hasty prosecutions and undermined immigrants’ abilities to exercise their immigration rights, which might allow them to avoid deportation.

Illegal aliens did not immigrate--they entered the country illegally--so what 'immigration rights' can they exercise?

Federal prosecution of illegal immigrants soars
The White House lauds the dramatic increase, but critics cite higher priorities.
By Nicole Gaouette
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

June 18, 2008

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has sharply ratcheted up prosecutions of illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in the last year, with increases so dramatic that immigration offenses now account for as much as half the nation's federal criminal caseload.

In the widening crackdown, administration officials prosecuted 9,350 illegal immigrants on federal criminal charges in March, up from 3,746 a year ago and an all-time high, according to statistics released Tuesday. Those convicted have received jail sentences averaging about one month.

The prosecutions are among the most visible steps in a larger effort that includes work-site raids, increased border patrols and the use of technology and fences. Often controversial, the patchwork of measures represents the administration's response to failed congressional attempts last summer to overhaul federal immigration laws.

Administration officials and conservative groups have lauded the increase in prosecutions. But critics say data show illegal immigrants are still trying to enter the country. And some lawyers argue that the push is overwhelming a federal court system with limited resources and higher priorities.

Even so, administration officials announced this month that they would be funneling more resources toward the effort, called Operation Streamline.

"The results of this criminal prosecution initiative have been striking," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Chertoff's agency and the Justice Department, which oversee the effort, recently announced a plan to assign 64 attorneys and 35 staff members to prosecutions along the Southwest border.

The program began as a pilot around Del Rio, Texas, in 2005 and spread to other areas. Officers and prosecutors participating in it practice "zero tolerance," and jail times can range from two weeks to six months.

"The reason this works is because these illegal migrants come to realize that violating the law will not simply send them back to try over again but will require them to actually serve some short period of time in a jail or prison setting, and will brand them as having been violators of the law," Chertoff said. "That has a very significant deterrent impact."

The statistical analysis released Tuesday was compiled by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, considered an authoritative source for such figures. It called the increase "highly unusual."

Operation Streamline's larger aim is to give the administration another tool to use in its crackdown on illegal immigration, said Susan B. Long, a TRAC co-director and Syracuse University professor.

"This is an effort to use the federal criminal justice system in immigration enforcement," Long said. "What it means is that immigration cases are dominating the federal court system these days. The volume of cases is really huge. This is a big deal."

Of 16,298 federal criminal prosecutions recorded nationwide in March, immigration cases accounted for more than half, Long said. The next-highest number, 2,674, was for drug offenses, followed by 702 for white-collar crime.

TRAC researchers found that all but 142 of the 9,350 new federal immigration prosecutions in March occurred in certain areas along the border with Mexico. Texas was most active, followed by Southern California.

California is not formally a part of the program. But prosecutions of people who smuggle illegal immigrants across the state's border have increased sharply in the last five years, nearly doubling to 118 cases in March.

The deluge of prosecutions is overwhelming some lawyers involved in the process.

Heather Williams, a federal public defender in Tucson, said the operation had a crushing effect when it was begun this year on a limited basis.

Defense attorneys fear for clients who are hustled into court, en masse, after spending days crossing the desert.

"We have to be concerned our clients are competent to plead, that they understand what's going on," Williams said.

Other immigrant advocates were critical of the increase in federal prosecutions.

"It doesn't mean we have an end to illegal immigration or a way of dealing with it," said Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center.

A recent study showed that would-be border crossers were more concerned about heat and harsh conditions than border enforcement, she said. The study, by Wayne A. Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego, found that 98% of immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca were eventually able to enter the U.S.

But groups that want to see immigration tightly controlled applauded the new statistics.

"It sounds like very good news," said Roy Beck, director of NumbersUSA, which advocates stricter immigration controls.

"It's part of a pattern we've seen since last August where the administration, on the border and in the interior, seems almost monthly to be tightening the vise," he said.

www.latimes.com

Immigration lawyers have warned that the widespread application of criminal charges has resulted in overly hasty prosecutions and undermined immigrants’ abilities to exercise their immigration rights, which might allow them to avoid deportation




And what "immigration rights" which might allow them to avoid deportation exactly do people sneaking across the border have?

Perhaps what she should have said is that the IAs, their advocates, and these lawyers are being denied the opportunity to pull their antics of the past.....sob stories to judges and the media, endless delays in the court process until they can "put down roots" and have anchor babies to hide behind, change identities and flee......you know, all of the "legal manuevers" they have successfully used previously and are not getting away with now.

Added to Homepage:
http://www.alipac.us/article-3288--0-0.html

A glimmer of enforcement
Feds puts weight behind illegal immigration laws - what a concept!
Thursday, June 19, 2008

"It is the policy of the executive branch to enforce fully the immigration laws of the United States, including the detection and removal of illegal aliens and the imposition of legal sanctions against employers that hire illegal aliens."

-- President George Bush, in an executive order

Has an alien -- uh, the space kind -- taken over our president's body?

When the illegal immigration crisis finally got the nation's attention -- after illegals took to American streets with Mexican flags in hand to demand recognition and rights -- the argument was made that there was nothing else we could do.

There's no way you can deport 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens, the argument went.

Of course, it was a ruse all along. It's not necessary to actively deport most illegal aliens in order to get them to leave.

You don't even need the "comprehensive" immigration "reform" pushed on us by both parties for two years, at least until they felt the brunt of Americans' anger at the idea of amnesty.

No, all you have to do is enforce existing laws -- something the Bush administration has been inexplicably loath to do.

Now, however, President Bush has signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to verify workers' residency status.

The federal "E-verify" system was established under President Clinton, but has been voluntary until now.

Could it be the federal government is waking up to its responsibility to enforce its own laws?

What next? A secure border?

Maybe. But don't hold your breath -- especially since this is an election year, and Democratic nominee Barack Obama seems to think the illegal immigration problem is just that you're racist and irrationally fearful. Nor has John McCain been right on illegal immigration; he was one of the main sponsors of amnesty. And both parties will step lightly around the issue in an election year.

We don't know why the lame duck president finally got religion, but it's about time.

The U.S. is being played for a sucker on illegal immigration anyway, but how block-headed would it be for the government itself to be employing illegals -- which, despite rhetoric from the left, is against the law?

"This is the first time the federal government is ensuring that it will not be responsible, directly or indirectly, for hiring illegal aliens," says Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for true reform advocate organization NumbersUSA.

Given the feds' chronic inaction on illegal immigration, an increasing number of states have passed their own laws requiring employers to check workers for immigration status.

They've been trying to enforce the laws the federal government was supposed to be enforcing.

It's nice to see the feds at least making a token effort to catch up.


http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/06 ... 2675.shtml

There is no shortage of illegal immigrants to prosecute: Perhaps they need to construct the legislated double-layered fence.

Border Patrol Sector Apprehensions on our Southern Border (West to East)
Fiscal Year (Oct thru Sept)---2005--------2006--------2007------FYTD 2008 (thru May 31)
San Diego Sector -----------126,879----142,104---- 152,460--- 110,164
El Centro Sector --------------55,725-----61,465----- 55,883----- 29,130
Yuma Sector -----------------138,492----118,549----- 37,992------ 6,877 *(Double-Layer fence installed)
Tucson Sector ---------------439,053----392,074---- 378,239--- 235,883
El Paso Sector ---------------122,624----122,256----- 75,464----- 23,653
Marfa Sector ------------------10,532-------7,520------ 5,536------ 3,912
Del Rio Sector -----------------68,547-----42,636----- 22,920----- 14,804
Laredo Sector -----------------75,268-----74,840----- 56,714------31,353
Rio Grande Valley Sector ----134,136---110,528----- 73,430----- 52,680
Total Apprehensions-------1,171,554-1,071,972---- 858,638----508,406

----------------------------------------FYTD-----------FYTD----------------------
Sector----------------LENGTH----Apprhnsns---Apprhnsn/mile
San Diego----------- 66 miles--- 110,164----------1669
El Centro------------ 71 miles---- 29,130-----------410
Yuma--------------- 118 miles----- 6,877------------ 58
Tucson------------- 262 miles--- 235,883----------- 900
El Paso------------- 268 miles----- 23,653------------ 88
Marfa--------------- 510 miles----- 3,912--------------8
Del Rio-------------- 210 miles-----14,804------------ 70
Laredo-------------- 171 miles---- 31,353------------183
Rio Grande Valley-- 316 miles-----52,860----------- 167
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Operation Streamline results ‘striking’
Illegals face prosecution prior to being deported
By Jonathon Shacat
Herald/Review

Published on Thursday, June 19, 2008

TUCSON — A group of eight Mexicans stood before Magistrate Judge Charles Pyle in federal court in Tucson on Monday.

They were dressed in jeans and T-shirts. Their hands were cuffed to chains around their waists. Their ankles were also cuffed. Each was charged with illegal entry into the United States by crossing the border away from the port of entry to avoid inspection.
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They were apprehended by Border Patrol agents last week. Under plea agreements, they were sentenced to time served (about five or six days). Marshals escorted them out of the courtroom and another group of defendants came forward.

By the end of the 1 1/2 hour hearing, a total of about 70 individuals were sentenced. Some were charged with a more serious offense of illegal entry after deportation. Some were ordered to serve up to 180 days in prison.

Nearly all of the defendants were Mexicans, while a few were from places like Guatemala or El Salvador. There was only one woman. Many had illegally crossed near Sasabe. But Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels said any apprehension made anywhere in the Tucson Sector is subject to prosecution under the program.

This scenario plays out each week Monday through Friday.

Daniels said the program is “an enhanced enforcement operation.â€

*Any improvement in the Yuma Sector should be attributed to the 7 miles of double-layered fence at San Luis which stopped the Banzai Runs where 200, or more, illegal aliens, would cross at a time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2008------OCT-----NOV-----DEC-----JAN-----FEB------MAR------APR-----MAY
San Diego --9,801---9,163---7,773--12,877 --15,092--18,870---20,569--16,019
El Centro----3,230---2,412---2,000----3,839 ---4,095----4,604----5,090---3,860
Yuma--------1,094------955-----956----1,062---1,089-------751------523------447
Tucson-----21,725--18,232-11,722---26,348--34,297---45,222--45,436--32,851
El Paso------3,605----2,648--2,014-----3,470---3,945----3,129----2,808---2,034
Marfa----------386------388-----451-------350-----612-------613------527------585
Del Rio------1,680----1,059-----945-----1,961--2,462-----2,667---2,286----1,744
Laredo------3,825-----2,658--1,969-----3,907--5,001-----5,355---4,904----3,734
RG Valley---5,989-----4,696--3,974-----5,217--6,879-----8,545---9,419----7,961
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FY 2007-----OCT-----NOV-----DEC-----JAN-----FEB-----MAR-----APR-----MAY-----JUN------JUL-----AUG-----SEP
San Diego--9,494---7,764---6,591--12,489--12,997--18,044--17,999--16,136 --13,283--12,941--13,312--11,410
El Centro---4,379---3,667---3,037----4,983---5,187---7,198----6,983---5,747 ----3,842---3,835---3,789----3,236
Yuma--------3,478--3,240---2,601----5,357---4,474---5,571----4,108---3,162-----2,151--1,660----1,305------885
Tucson-----25,135-21,323-16,136---29,459-34,148--52,692---49,044-41,789 ---34,103-30,373--24,388--19,649
El Paso------6,183---5,098--4,189-----6,570 --7,482--10,537----8,957--6,741 ----5,632--5,109----4,969----3,997
Marfa----------368-----442----383--------556-----532-----677-------602-----407-------362 ---439------403------365
Del Rio------1,618---1,701--1,051-----2,044 --2,421---3,314----2,699---1,858----1,579--1,862----1,440----1,333
Laredo-------4,286--3,810--2,890-----4,678---5,855---7,673----6,428---4,928----4,595--4,338----3,858----3,375
RG Valley----5,772--4,549--3,649-----5,798---6,172----8,431---7,645---7,736----5,791---6,225----6,331---5,331
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Less than 12 miles of the highly effective legislated double-layered fence have been built.