Federal judge questions immigration prosecutions

AUSTIN (AP) — A federal judge in Austin has questioned whether it's worth the cost to U.S. taxpayers for prosecutors to pursue criminal convictions against some illegal immigrants who have no significant criminal history.

U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks made the comments in an order filed Friday in the cases against three Mexican citizens who were charged with illegal re-entry after being found in Travis County Jail.

Sparks wrote that it has cost more than $13,350 to jail the three. He also noted the charges mean additional costs and work for prosecutors, defense lawyers, court personnel and others.

"The expenses of prosecuting illegal entry and re-entry cases (rather than deportation) on aliens without any significant criminal history is simply mind-boggling," Sparks wrote.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that the three all pleaded guilty, were sentenced Thursday by Sparks to time served and are being deported. The newspaper reported that the order comes as Sparks' docket, like others in Texas, is filled with defendants charged with immigration crimes.

Most of those prosecuted in Austin have been identified by immigration officers at the Travis County Jail and charged with illegal entry after deportation. Many don't have a significant criminal history. Until a change in enforcement strategy about two years ago, they would have been deported and not prosecuted.

Sparks ordered prosecutors to be prepared to give reasons for prosecuting such cases.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Murphy's office did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment Saturday night.

In part because of Operation Streamline, a Bush administration project aimed at bringing criminal charges against most immigration violators in certain border areas, the federal prosecution of immigration violators went up nearly 9 percent during the 2009 fiscal year, according to researchers at Syracuse University who analyze Justice Department data.