[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S1633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 104--TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
SUCCESS OF OPERATION STREAMLINE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PROSECUTING FIRST 
                      TIME ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSERS

  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:

                              S. Res. 104

       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 ``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.

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