Patterico's Pontifications

10/25/2007

Zero Tolerance on the US-Mexico Border

Filed under: Immigration — DRJ @ 4:13 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Since late 2005, the Border Patrol has implemented a zero tolerance policy in the Del Rio, Texas, sector in which immigrants who are caught crossing illegally are held for federal prosecution. The program expanded to part of Arizona last year and now the zero tolerance policy is expanding to other areas of the Southern border:

“In late 2005, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began sending nearly all illegal immigrants caught in its Del Rio sector, a 210-mile stretch covering the middle of Texas’ southern border, for federal prosecution. Charged with illegal entry, they can be sentenced for 2 weeks to 6 months in jail.

The program expanded late last year to western Arizona and will start in Laredo on Wednesday, Rivera said. Future expansion will be based on where border officials believe immigrant traffic is moving in response to new crackdowns, he said, but the agent who oversees most of the Arizona border indicated to a congressional subcommittee this week that he hopes to add the program to the remainder of that state’s border.

Before the so-called “zero tolerance zones,” illegal immigrants from Mexico without criminal histories or too many previous crossing attempts were processed and quickly returned to Mexico voluntarily. Those from other countries could be held to face deportation but were often simply told to show up for a court date, which they rarely made.

“What we’re doing now is very effective, and we’re happy the way it’s turning out,” Rivera said, who noted a 46 percent reduction in border apprehensions in the Del Rio area since the zero-tolerance policy went into effect.”

Courts are feeling the pinch from the increased caseload:

The implementation of zero tolerance policies can strain the federal court system, adding thousands of additional cases to dockets in relatively small communities. In Del Rio, the increased prosecutions meant cases were running through a magistrate’s courtroom at a pace of one a minute.

A similar program in eastern New Mexico that attempted to detain all migrants using the immigration court system — which is separate from the U.S. District Court — ended after just three months last year. The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in El Paso got too crowded to continue housing so many migrants, said El Paso Border Patrol spokesman Doug Moiser.

The federal courthouse in Laredo, which is already so busy that visiting judges regularly come in to help manage the caseload, will get even busier next week when the zero tolerance policy goes into effect along the 171-mile section covered by the Laredo sector.

Rosie Rodriguez, the deputy-in-charge for the Laredo court clerk’s office, said the two full-time magistrates sometimes handle as many as 100 cases a day. Most of the cases in the court in Laredo, the busiest inland port city in America, are related to immigration and drug smuggling. “We are already busy. We’ll be busier,” Rodriguez said. “We are going to be affected, I’m sure. How much? We’ll see.””

I like this kind of a zero tolerance policy but El Paso needs to get on board.

— DRJ

8 Responses to “Zero Tolerance on the US-Mexico Border”

  1. As far as I know, the U.S. Supreme Court has not put a definite time period on “speedy trial”. Six months is not too long I believe. So let the courts get overloaded waiting six months to try a two-week case. The question is, do we have enough jail space?

    nk (da3e6b)

  2. I’m all for zero tolerance with regard to the border, however, this program again underscores the essential need for the feds to solidly secure the border. If a similiar program closed after only three months because:

    “…the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in El Paso got too crowded to continue housing so many migrants, said El Paso Border Patrol spokesman Doug Moiser.

    ..then how will this program handle the influx and burden? They are sentenced anywhere from two weeks to six months in jail – then what? Deport them – and they come back? Keep them incarcerated – and we the taxpayers foot the bill?

    Again, without the federal government fulfilling their obligation, this too seems little more than a band-aid. But a simultaneous cooperation would bring lasting results.

    Dana (28fb7f)

  3. It seems that ICE needs to hire a custodial consultant: Sheriff Joe.
    I’m confident that he could show them how to drastically increase their custodial capacity,
    and reducre costs at the same time.

    Another Drew (8018ee)

  4. I suppose a “zero tolerance” policy might be useful if it creates some buzz south of the border about where NOT to try and cross but that is pushing the problem off on someone else. Not sure its any sort of actual solution.
    More to the point, who posting here is willing to pay increased taxes to build facilities to house all the detainees and to hire guards, extra court personnel etc. to process them? In the real world, as in pay for all this next year, not in some utopian future when the govt. has lots of money coz all the federal entitlement programs have been repealed (all that entitlement $ goes back to the people anyway right?).
    Would it be worth the money if the one of the reasons to detain convicted illegal immigrants is actually to check their backgrounds to make sure they are actually from latin American and not from somewhere much more inimical to the US?

    EdWood (c2268a)

  5. Ed– prisons are expensive, too. I’m willing to pay for those. (Although some of the stuff they get I’d like to remove….TV, for starters.)

    Military is expensive, too, but I don’t want to remove that.

    Illegal immigration is a mix of lawbreaking and country-style threat (Seeing as the Mexican gov’t encourages the action, I be you could make a case that it’s an invasion rather easily. Especially if you add in the ones that want to “take back” Cali and Texas.)

    I would want the famous Sheriff Joe to design the holding facilities, though.

    We could even make good use of this for training– have National Guard do some training on holding a border, that kind of thing. Shoot, set it up so that lots of folks can do training in the area. Randomly, by preference. *grin* We found a terrorist in the PI during practice maneuvers, it can happen.

    Foxfier (290c52)

  6. Foxfier, well, that was my point, interdiction is expensive. Many people view illegal immigration as an unavoidable reality. There is a market for cheap labor, latin America is providing it. If a guy can get up here to work then good for him. I agree with that view, but the border brings in many many others that are not just some person wanting to make some money in El Norte which is why I also agree with people who want to do a much better job securing our borders.
    It’s who will put their money where their mouth is that I’m curious about, you know, instead of whining about how they need tax break because (insert reason here)and why can’t somebody ELSE pay.
    Sounds like you are willing to pony up. Is this another case where the voters have to go to the govt. and say “more taxes for this one thing please?”

    EdWood (c2268a)

  7. Ed- there is also a market for drugs. That doesn’t mean we should let them flow.

    Foxfier (290c52)

  8. Exactly my point in the post above.

    EdWood (fcdfda)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1010 secs.