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Federal courts handling more immigration cases, data finds


By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX - Federal prosecutors are taking more immigration cases to court - but not necessarily more serious ones.

Data being released today show that the number of immigration cases being handled by federal courts in Arizona jumped by more than a third between 2003 and last year.

Similar increases were reported in other border jurisdictions. The result is that federal courts across the country now handle more immigration cases than narcotics and drug charges, a reverse from just a year earlier.

In fact, the figures compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University show the number of referrals to federal court from the Department of Homeland Security - most of which are immigration-related crimes - exceeds those from the FBI, the IRS and the Drug Enforcement Agency combined.

But the figures show that virtually all that increase was in cases in magistrate courts - courts that handle misdemeanors. In fact, the number of cases in the district court, which has jurisdiction over felonies, actually declined slightly.

But Paul Charlton, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, said it would be wrong to see the two sets of figures as a sign his office is prosecuting more people whose only crime is crossing the border illegally.

"You're going to see somewhat fewer felony prosecutions because we're going after the people bringing people into the United States,'' he said. Charlton said these are very complex cases that require a lot of time.

Charlton said his prosecutors also pay special attention to multiple offenders - it's a felony to reenter the U.S. after being deported - and those whose actions endanger others.

The flip side of that, he said, is that some people who might be charged with other felonies are offered misdemeanor plea deals "so we have more time to focus on the coyotes.''

Charlton said the numbers of immigration cases that wind up in court reflect only a small percentage of the problem.

"We're certainly seeing a dramatic increase in the number of individuals who are attempting to cross the border,'' said Charlton. He said this year there will be perhaps 550,000 people trying to cross into Arizona from Mexico - a figure he said probably represents the largest share of illegal crossers in any of the four border states.

That means his attorneys have to make choices about who to charge - and who is simply taken back to the border.

"If it's a person who is crossing the line but who has a prior conviction, they're going to be prosecuted for certain,'' Charlton said. He said the same holds true for those whose repeat border crossings are "flaunting'' their criminal conduct.

But Charlton said his prosecutors can't do everything - which means that something has to fall by the wayside. And that, he said, tends to be white collar crime.

Charlton said that makes the most sense, as many of these offenses also can be prosecuted under state laws. That, he said, ensures that no one is getting away with breaking the law.

By contrast, Charlton said, his agency has to handle all serious crimes on Indian reservations where state and county prosecutors have no jurisdiction.