Repeat illegal immigrant prosecutions up in W.Pa.
8/9/2008, 2:39 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The U.S. Attorney's Office says federal prosecutions of repeat illegal-entry defendants in Western Pennsylvania have increased from two in 2000 to 170 over the past four years.

This week, a federal judge in Pittsburgh sentenced one Mexican man who was detained in June to time served and ordered that he be removed from the country. It was the fifth time the 30-year-old had been ordered out of the country.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it aggressively goes after anyone who is in the U.S. illegally.


But the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund says immigration officials are mainly catching ordinary illegal immigrants instead of criminals or terrorists.



Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com



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