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What is Operation Streamline?
Operation Streamline, a policy begun in 2005, mandates that nearly all undocumented immigrants crossing the Southern border in certain areas be prosecuted through the federal criminal justice system, a departure from previous practices when most immigration cases were handled exclusively within the civil immigration system.
Operation Streamline has exposed undocumented border-crossers crossing to unprecedented rates of incarceration; overburdened the federal criminal justice system; and added enormous costs to the American taxpayer while providing a boon to the for-profit private prison industry.
Media on Operation Streamline
- "A 'maddening' system, from courtrooms to shelters" Tom Roberts, National Catholic Reporter, July 1, 2011
- "Border Convictions: High Stakes, Unknown Price" Ted Robbins, September 14, 2010
- "Border Patrol Program Raises Due Process Concerns" Ted Robbins, NPR, September 13, 2010
- "Claims Of Border Program Success Are Unproven" Ted Robbins, NPR, September 13, 2010
- "Grinding Justice: Operation Streamline costs millions, tramples the Constitution, treats migrants like cattle, and doesn’t work." Stephen Lemons, Village Voice, October 20, 2010
- "Operation Streamline: Border enforcement that doesn't work," Joanna Lydgate, LA Times, May 14, 2010
- "Program Prosecutes Illegal Immigrants Before Deporting Them" Lauren Gambino, Latino America, News21.com, August 2010
- "Report: Criminalizing Undocumented Boosts For-profit Prisons," Khalil Abdullah, New America Media, August 6, 2010
- "We're All Parasites.' This is Operation Streamline," Max Blumenthal, February 15, 2010
Reports on Operation Streamline
- "Arrested on Entry: Operation Streamline and the Prosecution of Immigration Crimes" Donald Kerwin and Kristen McCabe, Migration Policy Institute, April 2010
- "Assembly Line Justice: A Review of Operations Streamline" by the Warren Institute of the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, January, 2010
- "Operation Streamline and its Effects on the Courts and Law Enforcement on the Border" National Immigration Forum, May 11, 2010
- "Operation Streamline and its Effects on the Courts and Law Enforcement on the Border" National Immigration Forum, May 11, 2010
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Half all people sentenced to federal prisons are now Latino; Op. Streamline major cause
A full half of all people sentenced to federal prisons are now Latino while Latinos make up only 16% of the total population, according to a new report from the Associated Press (Garance Burke, Hispanics new majority sentenced to federal … Continue reading
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Op. Streamline swells Latino representation in federal prison system
More Latinos are going to prison, and not because they are committing more crimes than they did in the past. That’s the analysis behind an Associated Press (“More Hispanics go to federal prison,” June 4) article last month. The reason … Continue reading
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Christian Century continues critical coverage of Op. Streamline in religious press
Last week, we reported on the excellent National Catholic Reporter article on Operation Streamline that included some harsh words on the program from Tuscon federal magistrate Bernardo P. Velasco. That story followed the Vatican’s official objection to Operation Streamline in … Continue reading
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Tagged Amy Frykholm, Assembly Line Justice, Christian Century, Operation Streamline
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Judge Bernardo P. Velasco criticizes Operation Streamline, calls policy “maddening” and ineffective
Last week, the National Catholic Reporter ran an insightful and critical article on the impact of Operation Streamline (“A ‘maddening’ system, from courtrooms to shelters,” July 1st) in Tuscon, Arizona. The article starts with a typical description of the kind … Continue reading
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Should Congress continue to throw even more money at Streamline?
Despite deep cuts in other parts of the budget, Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl of Arizona are proposing an expansion of Operation Streamline in their Senate bill 803. Here’s the text of the bill: SEC. 5. ENHANCING EXISTING BORDER … Continue reading
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TRAC numbers confirm shift towards immigration prosecutions
A newly released report from TRAC shows what this blog has documented since its inception – a massive increase in the use of federal criminal prosecutions for border-crossers in districts along the border. Previous to Operation Streamline, most border-crossers would … Continue reading
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Is Op. Streamline causing a “judicial emergency” in Arizona?
I found this article in the Arizona Daily Star (“Judge asks to delay felony trials,” January 5) to be interesting. It appears that Operation Streamline and an influx of cases in the Tuscon area generally is contributing to a crisis … Continue reading
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Yuma sector to expand Op. Streamline
The Yuma Sun (“Yuma Sector expands Operation Streamline,” December 20) is reporting that the Yuma sector of the Border Patrol will expand Operation Streamline into the neighboring area of Ajo, (Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Kenneth) Quillin said the operation will … Continue reading
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Vatican calls for end to Operation Streamline
Via the Arizona Politics blog, an interesting note about the proceedings of the United Nation Human Rights Council’s “Draft report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review.” Several nations brought points related to Arizona’s tough new immigration law, … Continue reading
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TRAC Collects Data on Immigration Case Backlogs and Wait Times
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reports immigration case backlogs reached a record 247,922 by mid-June of this year (“Immigration Case Backlog Continues to Grow”, TRAC 2010). The report also shows that these cases wait in the Immigration Courts of the … Continue reading
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