Under the presidency of George W. Bush, Operation Streamline was instated to help curb the number of illegal entries into the United States.

Numerous initiatives, including Operation Jump Start and the Secure Border Initiative, preceeded Operation Streamline, according to Clyde Benzenhoefer, retired Assistant Chief of Border Patrol for the Tucson Sector.

It is now called Arizona Denial Prosecution Initiative on a more local level, said Assistant Federal Public Defender Richard Raynor.

The main ports of entry into Arizona are Ajo, Lukeville, Sasabe, Nogales and Douglas, according to U.S. District Court Judge Bernardo P. Velasco. Of these, Nogales is the busiest.

Approximately 1,000 illegal immigrants attempt to cross through Nogales each day, said Velasco.

Border Patrol sifts through those that they have caught to determine the 40 people they will bring to Tucson to face prosecution.

According to Benzenhoefer, Border Patrol chooses people who have had a number of arrests for illegal entry.

The prosecution process works as follows:

The illegal immigrants are transported to U.S. District Court in Tucson, where they are held in the court's detention facility.

From 9 to 10:30 a.m., and from 10:30 to 12 p.m., the defendants meet in groups of 20 with their public defenders.

At 1 p.m., prosecution begins, and each defendant enters their plea of guilty or not guilty.

Following their plea, twenty people at a time stand together before the judge to hear their sentence. From there, they are directed back to the detention facility, where they will be transported to another location.

Penalties for illegal immigrants range from a few days up to 180 days, said Velasco. However, those who face multiple charges or have a felony on their record can face longer sentences. Additionally, fines can be imposed, but are often waived if the defendant is not financially stable.

Because the penalties only affect 40 people out of the over 1,000 who try to cross the border, Benzenhoefer said that the initiative is only "minimally effective."

"If you or I get caught, or your brother or sister, you'd be in the slammer," said Benzenhoefer. "If you're an illegal, nothing happens to you."

Additionally, because of the Arizona Denial Prosecution Initiative the federal judiciary in Tucson has faced difficulties in meeting the desired level of prosecutions in general. Some hardships include a lack of legal personnel and high costs.

Prosecutions occur Monday through Friday at U.S. District Court in the Special Proceedings Room, 405 W. Congress St.



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