Del Rio finds deterrence to illegals in jail

McClatchey-Tribune/Houston Chronicle:

Many in Congress are counting on border walls to discourage illegal immigration and dope smuggling from Mexico. Here in Del Rio, authorities are using jail cells instead.

The ever-expanding Val Verde County jail is filled with would-be yardmen and maids, immigrants awaiting deportation. They've been caught in a law enforcement dragnet known as "Operation Streamline," a zero-tolerance program that began here and has since spread both east and west along the Mexican border.

Critics of the lock-'em-up approach question the skyrocketing costs, complain of poor conditions inside the detention facilities, and predict that ultimately the efforts won't stop immigrants and drugs from making their way north.

But supporters say the approach is reducing crime and discouraging immigrants from trying to cross into the United States. The number of illegal immigrants caught in the Border Patrol's Del Rio Sector is at its lowest level since the early 1970s.

"Enforcement works," said Val Verde County Sheriff D'Wayne Jernigan. "We're definitely seeing a reduction in crime throughout the border area and a reduction in the number of aliens running loose in our community."

The new approach is aimed at ending the controversial "catch and release" practice. For years, thousands of undocumented foreigners apprehended along the border were released for lack of jail space and given a notice to appear in court. Most simply vanished into the underground economy.

Instead, the buzz phrase is "catch and detain," meaning virtually everybody who gets caught is sent to federal court or returned home immediately.

The result has been a burden for the U.S. Department of Justice, which must add attorneys and staff to bring charges against those being held. U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey recently called the burden "staggering."

Along with it has come an almost insatiable demand for jail space.

Eight years ago, for example, the Val Verde Correctional Facility had only 180 beds. This year, after completing its second 600-bed expansion, the maximum-security jail has room for 1,425 prisoners, an increase of almost 800 percent.

While the state prisoner population has remained flat at about 70 to 80 a day on average, the numbers serving time for immigration and drug offenses have skyrocketed, officials say.

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There is a push on by Republicans to expand the zero tolerance program for the full border. It is working. Employer sanctions and arrested workers is also working as a deterrent. What it shows is that we can get control of the border. With that control we can then have a rationale policy for admitting needed workers who are documented. The key to control is having consequences for coming here illegally.