Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

"Get tough" policy on immigration in South Texas

Houston Chronicle:

Twenty-five men and women stood at the back of a crowded federal courtroom one morning last month, and in a single emphatic voice pleaded guilty to immigration charges in a mass hearing. After each was sentenced, most to time served, the "cattle call" was over in little more than an hour.

They included a Mexican youth who washes windshields for tips on Brownsville streets — and had logged 29 previous arrests for illegal entry — and a group of men who waded the Rio Grande. In years past, Border Patrol agents would have taken names and snapped photographs, and allowed them to voluntarily return to Mexico the same day.

But in the sprawling Southern District of Texas, from Houston to Laredo and downriver to Brownsville, a get-tough policy has many immigration offenders being prosecuted. They are held in jail, brought before a federal magistrate, appointed a defense attorney, and allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor immigration charges. Most are sentenced to time served and released.

The new policy, which netted 18,092 convictions in South Texas border towns during fiscal year 2004 — has been touted by Justice Department officials as a step to bolster national security.

But many critics, including a government prosecutor, insist it is a waste of crucial federal manpower.

...

"All we're doing is keeping a spinning door spinning. We're not making an impact," complained one federal prosecutor, who asked not to be identified. "You've got to ask if any of these sentences are a deterrent. It's a revolving door."