Miscellaneous

Borderline

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Madonna, who turned 75 this week, used to sing a song about how someone was pushing her love over the borderline (whatever that means).

Federal magistrate judges and other federal court employees stationed near the U.S./Mexico border are feeling the same way (assuming they understand the lyrics better than we do). Burnout, difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, high caseloads, too few facilities, and no end in sight -- these are the new hallmarks of federal court work in the southwest.

Saddled with extra Justice cases due to initiatives with names like "Operation Streamline II," federal courts in Tucson, Yuma, and elsewhere are seeing an exponential rise in cases.

The initiatives seek to prosecute every person who has made an unauthorized entry into the country. In the past, such people were subject to voluntary return. Under the new initiatives, the cases are pursued vigorously, although most (with the exception of people committing additional crimes, those with priors, or those engaging in human trafficking, etc.) are misdemeanors resulting in guilty pleas.

Oddly enough, funding does not seem to be the problem it is in the state courts. The courts are experiencing shortages of staff, space, time, and sanity.

What does the future hold? Will federal caseloads push workers over the borderline? The Western District of Texas saw filings rise up to 350%. But after a few years the caseload fell dramatically. According to one report, the decrease was "due in large part to the success and deterrent effect that increased law enforcement activity by the Border Patrol has had." (Flashback: remember how everyone rushed to take credit when crime dropped in the late 90s?)

Even in those optimal conditions, overworked employees have to wait two years for the downturn. Overcrowding is overcrowding. Should we fill federal prisons with folks who just wandered in looking for a job, or leave some space for scarier defendants? Should we busy the small pool of federal interpreters with Operation Streamline II pleas, or put them to work on more serious matters? Should court employees in Laredo learn to cope (even if only for a few years) with 600 additional misdemeanors a month, or be allowed a little vacation while they're still young?

The situation is the regional version of the effect of "putting more police on the streets" on the courts. Next time we hear a politician propose that kind of idea, we'll ask how much extra help the courts will get in the deal.

See Federal Courts Hit Hard by Increased Law Enforcement on Border, The Third Branch (July 2008). See also Immigration Prosecutions Hit New High, Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post (June 2, 2008); Surge in Immigration Prosecutions Continues, TRAC (August 15, 2008); Immigration Overshadows All Other Administration Enforcement Efforts, TRAC (July 17, 2008); and Study Finds Fewer Immigration Judges, Even Though DOJ Promised More, TRAC (July 28, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on August 17, 2008 (boomark / email).