New 'Zero Tolerance' Immigration Policy Scrutinized

There is concern the Trump administration’s new ‘zero tolerance’ policy on illegal border crossings could overwhelm the federal court system, which could ultimately minimize the policy’s impact.While at the San Diego border on Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice will prosecute anyone crossing illegally and that parents might be separated from their children.  Travel Insurance May Not Cover Hawaii’s Volcano Eruption Terence Shigg, president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 1613 in San Diego, says Border Patrol agents welcome the new policy. “These are laws on the books. You hired us to do a job; you hired 20,000 of us across the country to protect the nation.Shigg expects the policy to lead to an immediate decrease in the number of illegal crossings, as word of the tough new policy spreads south of the border. ‘She’s Suffering’: Mother of Newborn Bit by Pit Bull He also says he expects the number of arrests by agents to remain the same.“Will it put an extra burden on the system? Not our system. It will put an extra burden on the court system,” said Shigg.And that could be problematic. Shigg fears the court system could be overwhelmed within six months, meaning those arrested could potentially be released as they wait to be processed. And that could lead back to an increase in the number of illegal border crossings. CV High School Student Recruited Classmates to Smuggle Drugs “If we don’t have bed space, if the courts aren’t holding them, that would get back to their home countries, to say ‘oh, this is what’s going to happen. You’re going to be arrested, you’ll be processed, but then they’ll let you go into the country and you don’t have to show up for that hearing,” said Shigg.To counter the possibility of the courts being overwhelmed, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions promised to add more judges and prosecutors, but he didn’t say anything about defense attorneys.“It’s already taking a toll on our ability to really zealously and thoroughly represent our clients and for these defendants to get a meaningful due process,” said immigration attorney Andrew Nietor.Nietor says there can be anywhere from five to ten daily immigration cases in federal court. Under the new policy, he expects that number to increase to 20. He says the system could be overwhelmed within two months.“There’s no discussion of sending any resources to help in terms of defense of these individuals, of housing, of transportation, of social services, and so there’s no way this can be maintained in any way that’s fair,” said Nietor.To reinforce his point Nietor said normally federal courts might handle 5 to 10 immigration cases a day, but he expects that number to reach 20 per day under the new policy. So time will tell, what ‘zero tolerance’ really means when it comes to cracking down on illegal crossings.Photo Credit: AP
Source: NBC San Diego