Operation Railroad

IN OCTOBER 2013, an ad hoc group of humanitarians in Tucson, Ariz., chained themselves under buses scheduled to bring undocumented immigrants to trial at the federal district courthouse. The protests were aimed at Operation Streamline, which requires federal criminal charges to be brought against every person accused of an illegal border crossing. The action halted, for one day, Operation Streamline’s en masse prosecution of groups ranging from 50 to 100 people.

Under Operation Streamline, implemented under the Bush administration, deportation cases shifted from civil immigration authorities to federal criminal courts, a move that forced undocumented immigrants into the federal criminal justice system and into U.S. prisons. Operation Streamline is undergirded by a 2005 Customs and Border Patrol program called the Consequence Delivery System (CDS), which “guides management and agents through a process designed to uniquely evaluate each subject and identify the ideal consequence to break the smuggling cycle.” Using CDS, a first border-crossing offense is treated as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in prison. Those who are caught a second time face deportation and possible felony convictions punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Prior to CDS, border crossers without proper documentation were rarely prosecuted as criminals; instead, they were “administratively deported” through the civil immigration system. Under fast-track programs such as Operation Streamline, a federal criminal case—with prison and deportation consequences—can be completed in two days or less.

Operation Streamline began in Texas. Now it’s the practice in eight of the 11 federal jurisdictions. When the program started in Arizona in 2008, local humanitarians began visiting the federal court each afternoon to support those charged with illegal immigration. The several dozen prisoners—unwashed, with hands and feet shackled—were terrified of what would happen next. The prisoners spent 30 minutes or less with a court-appointed attorney—not enough time to explore the facts of the case, determine eligibility for asylum or other visa opportunities, or even authenticate country of origin, which in some cases was the U.S.

“The program’s voluminous prosecutions have forced many courts to cut procedural corners,” reports UC Berkeley’s Warren Institute. “Magistrate judges conduct en masse hearings, during which as many as 80 defendants plead guilty at a time.” Misuse of the federal criminal justice system and civil rights violations have been so excessive in these cases that the American Civil Liberties Union took Operation Streamline to court. In December 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Streamline’s en masse plea hearings in Tucson violate federal law. The Warren Institute determined that Operation Streamline actually diverts attention away from fighting drug smuggling, human trafficking, and other crimes that create border violence.

Unfortunately, the ruling is not binding outside of the Ninth Circuit, and the program continues in Tucson with only a few modifications.

Sixteen of the demonstrators arrested in 2013 as part of the End Streamline Coalition are scheduled to stand trial in March. Their actions have raised public awareness about Operation Streamline. But what else can be done?

We can demand that the Obama administration restore prosecutorial discretion to the U.S. attorneys whose job it is to prosecute in a way that prevents border violence. According to the Warren Institute, Operation Streamline denies prosecutors “prosecutorial discretion,” a feature that allows them to focus on the most egregious crimes.

President Obama’s executive action in November to reform immigration laws is premised on the right to exercise prosecutorial discretion. While Obama’s action focused on undocumented persons who have lived in the U.S. for an extended period of time, it will require revisiting Operation Streamline to ensure that no one in the “protected categories” gets swept up in the wrong net. This provides an opportunity to expand our review of Operation Streamline’s policies and practices. Otherwise, for thousands of detainees, it’ll continue to be Operation Railroad.