Federal hammer hits migrants harder

The Department of Homeland Security has dramatically ratcheted up its arrests of individuals along the U.S.-Mexico border for various immigration crimes, according to statistics released today by Syracuse University. Immigration prosecutions hit an all-time high in March 2008, with 9,350 defendants charged. The number of March arrests is up 50% from April and up a whopping 73% from 2007. The prosecutions are part of a Homeland Security and Justice Department program called "Operation Streamline." Under the program, illegal immigrants caught along the U.S.-Mexico border are prosecuted on federal criminal charges that require jail time. The average sentence is one month.

In early June, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the program was yielding "striking" results. "Once they get prosecuted, they stop trying to come in again," Chertoff said, adding that officials have also seen "a reduction in smuggling -- in smuggling organizations and illegal entries in the relevant urban areas." The top three charges in March were: "reentry of deported alien," "bringing in and harboring certain aliens," and "entry of alien at improper time or place, etc." The Syracuse data found that five federal judicial districts along the border dominated when it came to immigration prosecutions. The Southern District of Texas, around Houston, was the most active with 488 prosecutions in March. Texas' Western District court, around San Antonio, was second and the Southern District of California, around San Diego, was third.

"Operation Streamline" began as a pilot project around Del Rio, Texas, in December 2005. It was expanded to Yuma, Ariz., in December 2006 and Laredo, Texas, in October 2007. On June 9, Chertoff said the administration would commit more resources to the program with hiring of an additional 64 prosecutors and 35 support staff. The program, he said, "has a very significant deterrent impact."

--Nicole Gaouette in Washington

Comments

[Darren]

What most the small minded posters on this site have failed to understand (and they could never comprehend as much as they attempt at coming off as intelligent patriot Americans) is that the IRS has been collected taxes from millions of illegal immigrants working here, using false social security ID#s. The IRS has made out, the employers have made out, and only when our economy is going south, is our government going to rid us our problem of immigrants. And what most the bigots on this site also forgot, all of us are immigrants.

[doctorfixit]

Election year, and Homeland Security Chief Michael "Skeletor " Jerkoff is making superhuman efforts to pretend that he is doing something about the open borders that his boss steadfastly refuses to change.

Both Presidential candidates have promised amnesty, so this little charade is a way to keep the Mexican invasion off the radar screen until the new Traitor-In-Chief is inaugurated.

I don't believe one bit of this. Build the wall, Jerkoff.

[Lee]

I wonder if "Operation Streamline" is in effect here in Tucson. I haven't seen many illegals, or for that matter, the Border Patrol lately. Hmmm. I guess if this government really wants to do something to shut down the illegal pipeline, they can.

[Trevor Woods]

We need more prisons to hold these illegal aliens. Why not make one of the sides of the prison a border fence? That way we could make a small section of the new border fence a prison wall to boot. Cut down on costs by a duel use fence. Anyone on the other side could look and see what awaits them if they continue to proceed and break our laws. Make one small step for aliens a giant leap instead!

[Linda]

American taxpayers are subsidizing the cheap illegal alien labor of big Agriculture, poultry and other corporations to the tune of $380 billion per year…….welfare, food stamps, SSI, free legal, free college, free public schools, medicaid, free legal defense when they commit crimes against Americans, extra police, bigger schools, more prisons (they comprise 30% of the prison population).

Congress intends to keep pushing amnesty down our throats. http://www.ALIPAC.org lets us know about these efforts and we start calling to stop it.

Relevant videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLJxmJZXgNI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6dxyfA9ZDg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyEfmDtxdhM

[Linda]

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE! Hospitals are closing, Gov Swartzenegger proposes new taxes every week to pay for the additional schools, prisons, police, welfare, medicaid, SSI, food stamps, free public schools at $15,000 per student per yr, free college tuition under Quest, free legal defense for rape, robbery, murder of Americans. I guess all those taxes paid by the illegals (hehe!) is not getting the job done. We American TAXPAYERS are paying all these costs, while the greedy EMPLOYERS get cheap labor.

Our SSN numbers are being used FRAUDULENTLY. The SS Admiinistration knows exactly who’s using them and their EMPLOYER. Homeland Security with WIDE OPEN BORDERS is a JOKE! Wonder how much money is required by Homeland “Security”, the FBI, NSA, OSI, and 16 other agencies to surveill 20 million extra people for “terrorism”?

Bush needs to sign an executive order stopping citizenship for ‘anchor babies”! Now THAT would have a little bit of impact.

[Thanos]

I guess drug smugglers, murderers, gangs and other illegal aliens are now considered "migrants".

What is really arrogant about this piece is that not only does the the LA Times change the meaning of words "migrants" they also state that "Comments are moderated, and will not appear until they've been approved."

Approved by who?

Answer: The thought-police at the Ministry of Truth, the American politburo at the LA Times.

The LA Times and other "news organizations" demonstrate on a daily basis how they change the meaning of words to change your perception thus changing reality.

What gives you people over at the LA Times the right to censor other peoples opinions?

Your yourselves were granted the awesome power of the First Amendment yet you reserve the right to deny that same right to me.

The path to hell brought to you by the LA Times and the Orwellian play book.

It's not over yet.

Thanos...

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Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984),[1] by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair), is an English novel about life in an authoritarian regime as lived by Winston Smith, an intellectual worker at the Ministry of Truth. Winston is degraded and psychologically tortured after he is arrested by the thoughtpolice under the instruction of the totalitarian government of Oceania, in the year 1984.

The book has major significance for its vision of an all-observing government which uses constant surveillance and propaganda, both insidious and blatant, to control its citizens. The book had a substantial impact both in literature and on the perception of public surveillance, coining such terms as 'Big Brother' and 'Orwellian'.

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Definitions of politburo on the Web:

* Executive committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/glossary/nz.index.html

* Politburo is short for Political Bureau. The term originates from the Russian Politicheskoye Buro, which contracts to Politburo. A Politburo is the executive organization for a number of political parties, most notably for Communist Parties.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo

[Michael Colemanhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2008/06/federal-hammer.html]

the sooner the better.maybe we can get our construction work back. so many millions of american construction workers out of work. these illegal criminals are killing the hospitals,and the whole economy. the middle class pays the trillions they cost us. our spineless, sell out polititions are out for there votes for so long were broke, no oil, have illegals, a congress that gives our enemy american lawyers, disrespects our troops every second they can. we had two socialists, one of them muslim,who hates whites, jews ,ect. he doesent even like america. god help us . OH ! DID I SAY GOD.

[Patrick]

Finally someone woke up after being asleep at the wheel for over 200 years,the Alamo could of been stoped with a fence. Thats why we pay taxes!

[Kramer]

I six year old could have figured out this had to be done sooner rather than later.

[paladino]

Gee that took a rocket scientist.....someone breaks the law, you put them in cooler for a month and Walllah! the person does not want to repeat the process. Only idiot politicians don't know how to stop illegal immigration; any non-idiot could cure the immigration problem in three years but it would not be PC therefore it will not happen.

[F Howard]

What a concept prison actually deters criminal activity.
Man!!....They may be on to something

[mike johnson]

Yippee, at last!!!

[C Chavez]

About bloody f-ing time! Imagine what would happen if the $38 Billion they send out of the country every year and the $300 Million we spend on their free health care were used for other purposes here in the good old USA? Wouldn't the dollar be stronger and wouldn't the cost of petroleum be lower?

[Mike]

Finally!

Nice to see the government is finally taking this problem seriously. Make them follow the rules or go home!

[Mountainguy]

I'm sure you folks in California can't stand the thought that people who break the law are actually being held accountable. We never would have had an illegal alien problem if laws on the books were enforced. Now lets get a fence up and protect our nation's sovereignty. That's what we should be doing. Maybe teenagers can go back to doing the jobs that "Americans don't want to do" like they did when I was young.

[ForthRight]

The best news here is that 64 new prosecutors have been hired to handle immigration crime. We need many more, and more enforcement officers at all border crossings and ports of entry.

Eventually we also need to hire investigators to review citizenship applications going back 20+ years to determine whether any current "citizens" falsified documents or hid criminal pasts.

[larz]

Vote Obama in and they'll all be back with a vengeance.