Criminal Prosecution of Immigrants Has Skyrocketed
By Gerri L. Elder
During the past year, the Bush administration has stepped up the enforcement of immigration laws and placed priority on the federal prosecution of illegal immigrants near the U.S. - Mexico border. The crackdown on illegal immigrants has become such high priority that immigration cases are overwhelming the federal court system.
In fact, the New York Times reported that criminal prosecutions of illegal immigrants by federal authorities reached a record high in March, with immigration cases accounting for 57 percent of all new federal criminal cases brought nationwide that month, according to data included in a report by a nonpartisan research group.
The report also indicated that 99 percent of all illegal immigrants referred to federal prosecutors for immigration violations were criminally charged. The Bush administration has successfully shifted immigration violations that were previously charged as civil offenses to criminal charges as part of the crackdown on illegal immigrants.
In March, federal immigration officials prosecuted 9,350 illegal immigrants for federal crimes. In March 2007, the number of illegal immigrants prosecuted by federal immigration officials was 3,746.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the illegal immigrants that have been convicted have generally received jail sentences averaging about one month. All but 142 of the illegal immigrant prosecutions in March were in certain areas along the border with Texas having the most federal prosecutions of illegal immigrants, followed by Southern California.
The prosecution of illegal immigrants by federal authorities is part of a wide effort towards enforcement of existing immigration laws in response to the failure of Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill last year. In addition to the large number of federal criminal prosecutions, there have also been numerous workplace immigration raids, increased border patrols and more fences constructed at the border.
Despite the strain on the courts and data indicating that illegal immigrants are still attempting to enter the country, administration officials have announced that they will be setting aside even more resources for their plan for enforcement of immigration laws named "Operation Streamline."
In the works is the addition of 64 lawyers and 35 staff members to aid in the criminal prosecution of illegal immigrants along the U.S. - Mexico border. Operation Streamline actually started as a pilot program in Texas during 2005 and has since spread to other areas along the border. Prosecutors and immigration officers practice zero tolerance and the jail times for illegal immigrants who are prosecuted generally range from two weeks to six months.
Although Homeland Security, the Bush administration and conservative groups are happy with the increase of federal prosecutions of illegal immigrants, a recent study showed that immigrants in Mexico that wish to cross the border into the United States are more concerned about the extreme heat and harsh conditions than being caught by immigration officials.
The study, by Wayne A. Cornelius, director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego, found that 98 percent of illegal immigrants from the Mexican state of Oaxaca were eventually able to enter the United States without being detected.