Zero Tolerance Reducing Illegal Crossings in Laredo 

Date: 12/21/07

Zero Tolerance Reducing Illegal Crossings in Laredo

After 45 days, zero tolerance in Laredo is already achieving significant results. Under this policy, anyone caught illegally entering the country is arrested, prosecuted, and jailed. These consequences are deterring people from illegally crossing the border. Compared to last year, 33 percent fewer people are attempting to cross and crime has dropped 36 percent. I am proud to have helped expand this policy to the Laredo Sector and I will not rest until zero tolerance is in force from Brownsville to San Diego.

• Border Patrol Laredo Sector began the Streamline-Laredo program on October 31, 2007.

• Under this program, all persons who illegally enter the United States in the Laredo Sector at locations designated for zero–tolerance are prosecuted in federal court for violation of Title 8 USC 1325, Entry Without Inspection.

• The initial area of focus for Streamline-Laredo included 6 miles of border within the Laredo Metropolitan limits, and has since been expanded to include more than 60 miles of border within the Laredo Sector area of responsibility.

• Streamline-Laredo cases prosecuted in first 45 days: 1,058 (79 % from Mexico)

• Sentencing: Sentences for offenders prosecuted in the first 45 days of the Streamline-Laredo initiative have ranged from the maximum of 180 days incarceration to unsupervised probation.

• Apprehensions: A 33% decrease across the sector, when data from the time period covering the program’s first 45 days is compared to the same time period of last year.

• Other Indicators: Laredo Police Department crime data for October 31 through December 15, 2007 indicates a reduction of approximately 30 percent in reported crimes, and a 36% decrease in major crimes compared to the same 45-day period in 2006.