User:Vipul/Operation Streamline: Difference between revisions
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===Regions of operation === |
===Regions of operation === |
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All states on the U.S.-Mexico border except California have implemented the program:<ref name=berkeley/><ref name=grassroots-gp>{{cite web|url=http://grassrootsleadership.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Operation-Streamline-Green-Paper.pdf|title = Operation Streamline: Drowning Justice and Draining Dollars along the Rio Grande|accessdate = August 22, 2015}}</ref><ref name=mpi/> |
All states on the U.S.-Mexico border except California have implemented the program:<ref name=berkeley/><ref name=grassroots-gp>{{cite web|url=http://grassrootsleadership.org/sites/default/files/uploads/Operation-Streamline-Green-Paper.pdf|title = Operation Streamline: Drowning Justice and Draining Dollars along the Rio Grande|accessdate = August 22, 2015}}</ref><ref name=mpi/> These include [[Del Rio, Texas]], [[Yuma, Arizona]], [[Laredo, Texas]], [[Tucson, Arizona]], [[El Paso, Texas]], [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]], [[McAllen, Texas]], and [[Brownsville, Texas]]. |
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! Area !! Number of miles of border land !! Time operations began !! Average daily prosecution count (as of 2009) |
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| [[Del Rio, Texas]] || 210 || December 2005 || 80 |
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| [[Yuma, Arizona]] || 120 || December 2006 || unknown |
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| [[Laredo, Texas]] || 171 || November 2007 || unknown |
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| [[Tucson, Arizona]] (spin-off program called Arizona Denial Prosecution Initiative) || 15 || January 2008 || 70 |
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| [[El Paso, Texas]] || || || 20 |
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| [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]] || || || |
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| [[McAllen, Texas]] (part of the [[Rio Grande Valley]]) || || June 2008 || |
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| [[Brownsville, Texas]] (part of the Rio Grande Valley) || || June 2008 || |
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=== Criminal prosecution of illegal entry and re-entry === |
=== Criminal prosecution of illegal entry and re-entry === |
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Revision as of 03:50, 23 August 2015
Operation Streamline is a joint initiative of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice in the United States, started in 2005, that adopts a "zero-tolerance" approach to unauthorized border-crossing by engaging in criminal prosecution of those engaging in it.[1][2][3][4]
Goals
Operation Streamline was created with the goal of combating drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, human smuggling, and repeat illegal immigration into the United States.[5] Its ultimate goal is to achieve a 100% criminalization of unauthorized border-crossing.[6]
Program description
Regions of operation
All states on the U.S.-Mexico border except California have implemented the program:[5][7][4] These include Del Rio, Texas, Yuma, Arizona, Laredo, Texas, Tucson, Arizona, El Paso, Texas, Las Cruces, New Mexico, McAllen, Texas, and Brownsville, Texas.
Criminal prosecution of illegal entry and re-entry
Under Operation Streamline, those caught in the act of crossing the United States border without authorization may be rounded up and subject to criminal prosecution. This is in contrast to the historical policy of catch and release and even to the policy of deporting people through expedited removal or after formal removal proceedings. Under Operation Streamline, immigration violations are processed under the criminal justice system.[2][8]
The penalties that Operation Streamline carries for immigrants are as follows:[5]
- First-time offenders are prosecuted for misdemeanor illegal entry (8 U.S.C. Section 1325) that carries a six-month maximum sentence.
- Any migrant who has been deported in the past and attempts to re-enter without authorization can be charged with felony re-entry that carries a two-year sentence but can involve up to a 20-year maximum if the migrant has a criminal record.
About 99% of people prosecuted under Operation Streamline plead guilty.[5] According to the Washington Post, this is because those who plead guilty are likely to get substantially shorter prison terms than the theoretical maximum, whereas those who do not plead guilty are likely to get close to the maximum sentence.[9]
The annual cost of Operation Streamline in Arizona alone was estimated as $120 million for court proceedings and $50 million for detention and incarceration.[10]
Bundling and rapid processing of cases
Another distinguishing feature of Operation Streamline is that cases are not heardindividually, but rather in large groups, with many people caught crossing the border together generally being processed in one case.[2][8] According to a New York Times report, a single court case in Tucson, Arizona can have up to 70 defendants, the upper limit being set by the physical capacity of the court. The time taken to decide the cases varies between 30 minutes (or 25 seconds per defendant) and 2 hours 35 minutes (or a little over 2 minutes per defendant).[8]
Criticism
Operation Streamline has received significant criticism from groups concerned about immigrant rights, civil rights, due process, and human rights. SOme of the chief angles of criticism have been:
- Operation Streamline inappropriately traets violation of immigration laws as a criminal matter rather than an administrative matter, making it inconsistent with the rest of the immigration system.[5][10]
- The rapid processing of cases in Operation Streamline goes against the spirit of due process. In many cases, individuals who are United States citizens or permanent residents, have legitimate claims to asylum, or have other valid reasons to be legally present in the United States do not get an opportunity to present their case.[5][10]
- Operation Streamline uses a lot of taxpayer resources, many of which go into funding private prison firms, without making a clear contribution to solving the problem (of reducing unauthorized border-crossing) that it was intended to solve.[6][5]
- Operation Streamline uses significant resources of the Border Patrol, the federal prison system, and the courts, thereby leaving fewer resources to combat drug trafficking and border violence.[6][5]
History
An initial version of Operation Streamline was proposed by the Border Patrol for Del Rio, Texas in response to a significant increase in the number of apprehended non-Mexican migrants, from 10,000 in 2004 to 15,000 in 2005.[6] The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas requested a change to the proposal: in order to avoid running afoul of equal protection, the courts would need to criminally prosecute all migrants, not just those from Mexico.[6] After approval from then Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Operation Streamline became active starting December 2005: all unauthorized border-crossers in the Eagle Pass area of the Del Rio sector would be prosecuted criminally for unlawful entry and re-entry.[6]
Operation Streamline was gradually rolled out in other parts of the United States border:[6]
- Yuma, Arizona in 2006
- Laredo, Texasin 2007
- Tucson, Arizona in 2008
By 2010, every US-Mexico border sector not in California had implemented Operation Streamline.[6]
See also
- Expedited removal is a fast-track removal process where somebody who is present in the United States without authorization and arrived legally may be deported without formal removal proceedings. It applies to people who are already in the United States in addition to those caught at a border or denied entry at a designated port of entry. However, it does not involve any criminal charges against the person being removed. Also, it is not applied to people from Mexico or Canada unless they have a criminal history.
- Reinstatement of removal is a fast-track removal process where somebody who re-entered after having left the United States after a past order of removal is removed again by "reinstating" the previous order. This too is a purely administrative procedure and does not involve criminal charges.
- Credible fear
- Secure Border Initiative
References
- ^ Flake, Jeff (March 19, 2015). "Flake, McCain Introduce Resolution on Operation Streamline. Legislation stresses importance of maintaining prosecution of first-time illegal border crossers". Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c "US: Reject Mass Migrant Prosecutions. 'Operation Streamline' Program Unjust, Wasteful". Human Rights Watch. July 28, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ Planas, Roque (February 20, 2015). "Operation Streamline, Immigration Enforcement Program, Protested In Arizona And Texas". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Kerwin, Donald; McCabe, Kristen (April 29, 2010). "Arrested on Entry: Operation Streamline and the Prosecution of Immigration Crimes". Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lydgate, Joanna (January 1, 2010). "Assembly-line justice: a review of Operation Streamline" (PDF). Retrieved August 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Operation Streamline: Costs and Consequences" (PDF). Grassroots Leadership. September 1, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
- ^ "Operation Streamline: Drowning Justice and Draining Dollars along the Rio Grande" (PDF). Retrieved August 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c Santons, Fernanda (February 11, 2014). "Detainees Sentenced in Seconds in 'Streamline' Justice on Border". New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Partlow, Joshua (February 10, 2014). "Under Operation Streamline, fast-track proceedings for illegal immigrants". Washington Post. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "Fact Sheet: Operation Streamline" (PDF). No More Deaths. March 1, 2012. Retrieved August 17, 2015.