[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 104 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 104

 To express the sense of the Senate regarding the success of Operation 
Streamline and the importance of prosecuting first time illegal border 
                               crossers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 18, 2015

  Mr. Flake (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. McCain) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
             on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 To express the sense of the Senate regarding the success of Operation 
Streamline and the importance of prosecuting first time illegal border 
                               crossers.

Whereas the Border Patrol's Yuma Sector has long grappled with the crossing of 
        undocumented aliens and has seen illegal traffic decline precipitously 
        from the early 2000s to the present;
Whereas a combination of increased manpower, technology implementation, and the 
        delivery of appropriate consequences have resulted in gains in border 
        security in the Yuma Sector;
Whereas a key to the success in the Yuma Sector has been the implementation of 
        Operation Streamline, a program established in 2005 that was described 
        by former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as 
        ``a DHS partnership with the Department of Justice, . . . a 
        geographically focused operation that aims to increase the consequences 
        for illegally crossing the border by criminally prosecuting illegal 
        border-crossers.'';
Whereas known for its ``zero-tolerance'' approach, the Yuma County Sheriff's 
        Office cites 100 percent prosecution of illegal border crossers as a 
        shared goal of a partnership including Federal, State, and local law 
        enforcement agencies;
Whereas among the various consequences delivered to illegal crossers by the 
        Department of Homeland Security, Operation Streamline is associated with 
        a recidivism rate that is well below average and has seen a steady 
        decrease in recidivism in recent years;
Whereas the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona will 
        reportedly no longer be prosecuting those apprehended crossing the 
        border illegally for the first time; and
Whereas according to the Sheriff of Yuma County, Operation Streamline ``had a 
        deterrent effect in Yuma County, which gained a reputation as an area to 
        avoid crossing into because if caught, you were assured to go to court 
        and possibly face penalties'', but now the program ``has been severely 
        diluted.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) gains made in border security in the Yuma Sector and 
        positive trends in recidivism rates are of critical importance 
        to those living and working in the border region and to the 
        Nation as a whole;
            (2) refusing to prosecute first time illegal border 
        crossers under Operation Streamline will jeopardize border 
        security gains;
            (3) the border security steps that have led to some measure 
        of improvement on the border, such as the historical 
        implementation of Operation Streamline, should be preserved; 
        and
            (4) the Executive Branch should immediately remove any 
        issued or related prohibition, policy, guidance, or direction 
        to cease prosecuting first time illegal border crossers under 
        Operation Streamline.
                                 <all>