BORDER/COURTS/IMMIGRATION/JEFF SESSIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “At the height of President Barack Obama’s crackdown on illegal crossings from Mexico seven years ago, San Diego’s federal courts were so clogged that immigrants arrested near the border sometimes slept on the floor of border patrol stations for days before seeing a judge. Now, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ vow to criminally prosecute all those caught entering the United States illegally, which he reiterated on Monday [5-7-18], some judges and attorneys worry the courts are headed toward similar backlogs. In Arizona, U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco said courts are already processing about 75 immigration cases a day, which he said is their maximum capacity. Sessions said the Justice Department will add 35 new prosecutors along the border to help ramp up prosecutions, which can include basic charges of crossing illegally or more serious charges like human smuggling. But prosecutors are just one element of the system. Raner Collins, the Chief U.S. District Judge in Arizona, said that so far no additional resources have been provided for increased marshals, judges, court staff or defense lawyers to handle more cases…President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to curb illegal immigration, and border apprehensions dropped dramatically after he took office. In recent months, however, they have climbed up sharply. Trump recently declared the border “under siege” and vowed to take action.”
-Mica Rosenberg, Dan Levine, “Concerns over U.S. court backlog grow with rising border prosecutions,” Reuters, May 9, 2018 11:33 am