US Prosecutions Of Illegal Border Crossers More Than Double - Watchdog

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2019) US prosecutions of illegal border crossers more than doubled last year, the General Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report on Tuesday.

"The number of improper entry cases more than doubled from fiscal year 2017 (about 27,000) to fiscal year 2018 (about 62,000)," the GAO said.

In fiscal year 2018, about 84 percent of all improper entry cases filed in five districts on the southwest border within one day or less, including an initial hearing, presentation of evidence, plea, and sentencing, the report said.

In 2017 and 2018, the Attorney General directed Federal prosecutors to prioritize prosecutions of immigration-related offenses, including improper entry into the United States, illegal reentry after a prior removal from the country, and alien smuggling, among other offenses, according to the report.

As a result, the departments of Justice, Homeland Security (DHS) and the federal judiciary surged resources to the border area to handle the increased caseloads, the report said.

Despite the increased arrests, the surge of migrants mainly from Central America continued in fiscal 2019, with DHS' Customs and Border Patrol agency reporting 970,000 illegal border apprehensions.