Most illegal entrants selected for prosecution under a new zero-tolerance initiative are getting little jail time, but the program still might be producing the deterrent officials desired. The U.S. Border Patrol-led program, which started in January and prosecutes as many as 60 illegal entrants a day, is aimed at increasing the consequences for illegal Mexican border crossers who are used to being dropped off at the border after apprehension. Border Patrol officials say it's working - they've prosecuted 2,317 illegal entrants in the Tucson Sector through March and report that illegal entries and repeat tries have decreased in a 15-mile targeted zone in the west desert area southwest of Tucson, Ariz.The federal court and criminal justice system in Southeastern Arizona have been able to keep up so far and they have been slowly ratcheting up the daily haul with a target of 100 a day by September. The initiative, however, has pushed the U.S. marshals in Arizona to their limits, required the government to pay private attorneys and obligated the U.S. magistrates to request another judge for Tucson. Perhaps more importantly, it remains to be seen if the program's threat of prosecution and possible jail time are any more of a deterrent than the myriad risks illegal entrants already face, including sprained ankles, blistered feet, bandits and even death. "They are going to keep trying because they have illusions of the American dream," said Ramiro Quintero Chavez, of the Sonoran State Commission for the Care of Migrants. The Arizona Denial Prosecution Initiative is focused on one heavily-trafficked 15-mile area in an attempt to snuff out traffic there before expanding to other targeted zones throughout the 262-mile sector, the busiest on the Southwest border, said Andy Adame, Border Patrol special operations supervisor. Any adult man or woman - including those from other countries besides Mexico - who gets caught in the zone can be selected for prosecution. In that area, recidivism, the number of people who repeat their attempt to enter into the United States illegally more than once, dropped from 79 percent to 46 percent since the program started in January. Recidivism usually ranges from 80 percent to 92 percent elsewhere in the Tucson Sector, officials said. Each day, the entrants who have prior felony convictions and/or formal deportations, usually accounting for one-fourth to one-third of the group, sign written plea agreements and are charged with re-entry after deportation and illegal entry and sentenced to 30 to 180 days in jail. The rest are charged with misdemeanor illegal entry and usually receive sentences ranging from time served to 10 days or less of jail time, attorneys say. That means that even among those singled out for special prosecution, most illegal entrants are back at the border, and able to try again, within a few days. The only difference is that they spend a few days in jail waiting for their court appearance and have a criminal record due to the formal deportation. Adame argues it's still a deterrent because a second apprehension would put them in line for at least 30 days in jail. The government is also targeting smugglers under the initiative and giving them at least 30 days in jail, to separate them from illegal border crossers. John Fitzpatrick, assistant chief in the Tucson Sector, stresses that the prosecution initiative is one element in a broader strategy to slow down illegal entries in the Southwest border's busiest sector. "It's a tool, and a very good tool," Fitzpatrick said. "But, it's not a silver bullet." The illegal entrants who receive time served are bused down to Nogales and dropped at ports of entry. For many, it's a temporary setback in a journey they won't give up until they get back to their children, homes, cars and jobs in the United States. The Border Patrol's initiative is aimed at stopping this revolving door by increasing the punishment and forcing them to think twice about trying again. The message, however, doesn't seem to have reached all the illegal border crossers yet. Jose Ramirez Virue, an 18-year-old from Nayarit, Mexico, who was caught in March after he and a group of 10 were spotted by a helicopter pilot, had never heard of the new program. Upon hearing, he said nothing less than one year in jail time would stop him from trying again to get back to Texas where he has worked in construction before. "One year and I won't try again," said Ramirez in Spanish. But Elias Aguilar Garcia, 46, of Hidalgo, Mexico, who was caught in the same group, said even one trip to court would be enough to put an end to his illegal trips. He has made enough money working in a locker room at a Chicago golf club for the past eight years to buy a house, car and send his two children to private school in Tulancingo, Hidalgo said. But, he's never brought his family to live in the United States because he still hopes he will someday be able to legalize his status. A trip to federal court would ruin that, he said. "I hope they don't apprehend me because I wouldn't try again," Aguilar said. "I would try to get a visa instead." E-mail Brady McCombs at bmccombs(at)azstarnet.com.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Post new comment