Houston Chronical:
Illegal immigrants, including first-time crossers, are being prosecuted at dramatically higher rates in South Texas, according to a report released today.
The analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse found a 345 percent increase in immigration-related prosecutions in the U.S. Attorney's Southern District of Texas from fiscal year 2003 to 2004. Of the nearly 17,000 prosecutions in the Southern District of Texas last year, more than 80 percent were for illegal entry, a misdemeanor.
The study found increases nationwide in immigration prosecutions. Nearly a third of all federal criminal prosecutions are related to immigration, topping drug cases, the study said. But researchers were surprised to see the sudden rise in the Southern District, particularly since the volume of illegal border crossers is higher in Arizona.
"Texas South is just off the charts," said David Burnham, the co-director of the Syracuse-based research group.
TRAC gathered its data from documents submitted to the Justice Department by U.S. attorneys.
Headquartered in Houston, the Southern District of Texas stretches south to the Rio Grande Valley between Laredo and Brownsville.
Comments
Post a Comment