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Saturday 7 april 2018
Sessions orders 'zero tolerance' policy for border crossers

By ELLIOT SPAGAT, the operation also severely
Associated Press strained courtrooms and
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Attor- jails and fueled criticism of
ney General Jeff Sessions "assembly-line justice."
on Friday ordered a "zero In Tucson, Arizona, 70 peo-
tolerance" policy aimed at ple filled a courtroom to
people entering the United plead guilty in collective
States illegally for the first hearings that could last less
time on the Mexican bor- than an hour.
der. Sessions told border prose-
Sessions told federal pros- cutors that he was open to
ecutors in border districts other ideas.
to put more emphasis on "Remember, our goal is
charging people with il- not simply more cases," he
legal entry, which has his- wrote. "It is to end the ille-
torically been treated as a gality in our immigration
misdemeanor offense for system."
those with few or no previ- Border arrests, a useful but
ous encounters with border imperfect gauge of illegal
authorities. Smugglers and crossings, reached 50,308 in
frequent offenders are usu- March, up 37 percent from
ally charged with more seri- February and more than
ous crimes. triple the same period last
His one-page order lacks year. That's still less than pe-
specifics on how the policy riodic surges during former
will be carried out but sig- In this June 20, 2017, file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions listens during the Justice Depart- President Barack Obama's
nals that major change is in ment's National Summit on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, in Bethesda, Md. second term and far lower
the works. He tells prosecu- Associated Press than the 1990s and 2000s.
tors to ask for additional re- Immigration judges over-
sources if needed to pros- used softer language on of six months in prison for California. seen by Sessions were told
ecute cases. new offenders, saying that first-time crossers and two Sessions said the operation last week of quotas starting
The move caps a week of prosecutors "should aim to years for repeat offenses. contributed to a "decrease Oct. 1, with an expectation
unusually intense attention accomplish the goal of de- In practice, many are de- in illegal activities" but its to complete 700 cases a
to border security that in- terring first-time improper ported after pleading guilty success has been debat- year.
cluded President Donald entrants." and spending a few days in ed. In 2015, the Homeland The Justice Department
Trump's order for thousands His new order introduces jail. Security Department's in- cast it as an effort to re-
of National Guard mem- the zero-tolerance termi- As a model, Sessions point- spector general called for duce a court backlog of
bers to head to the border. nology and deals exclu- ed to a Border Patrol effort a fuller account of its im- nearly 700,000 cases, but
Sessions said "a crisis has sively with the statute ap- launched in 2005 in Texas, pact. the judges union and immi-
erupted" on the border, re- plied to first-time crossers, which targeted first-time Border Patrol figures show gration attorneys predict-
quiring more criminal pros- saying a recent increase in crossers for criminal prose- Mexicans were much less ed it would deprive people
ecutions. He issued a similar illegal crossings "requires an cution. It eventually spread likely to try crossing again of fair hearings and provide
directive a year ago that updated approach." to federal courts through- if they were criminally more grounds for appeal,
addressed a larger num- A conviction for illegal entry out Texas, Arizona and New charged than if they were potentially worsening the
ber of border crimes and carries a maximum penalty Mexico but didn't reach simply turned around. But backlog.q

Feds seize Backpage.com,

websites in enforcement action

action by the FBI, U.S. Postal authorities say advertising not guilty.
Inspection Service and the related to those services Lacey and Larkin are for-
Internal Revenue Service. has been extremely lucra- mer owners of the Village
The notice doesn't char- tive. Voice and the Phoenix
acterize or provide any Last year, the creators of New Times, but retained
details on the nature of the website were charged ownership of Backpage.
the enforcement action. It with money laundering in com.
said authorities planned to California. A decade ago, they were
release information about State prosecutors in Califor- arrested by then-Sheriff
This Friday, April 6, 2018 image shows an FBI notice on the Back- the enforcement action nia have said the website's Joe Arpaio's office in 2007
page.com website. Federal law enforcement authorities are in
the process of seizing Backpage.com and its affiliated websites later Friday. chief executive Carl Ferrer for publishing information
as part of an enforcement action by the FBI and other agencies. Backpage.com lets users and founders Michael Lac- about a secret grand jury
create posts to sell items, ey and James Larkin illegal- subpoena demanding in-
PHOENIX (AP) — Federal listing adult escort services. seek a roommate, par- ly funneled money through formation on its stories and
law enforcement authori- A notice that appeared ticipate in forums, list up- multiple companies and online readers.
ties are in the process of Friday afternoon at Back- coming events or post job created various websites They won a $3.75 million set-
seizing online classified site page.com says the web- openings. It also known for to get around banks that tlement from county gov-
Backpage.com and its af- sites are being seized as listings adult escorts and refused to process transac- ernment as a result of their
filiated websites known for part of an enforcement other sexual services, and tions. They have pleaded now-discredited arrests.q