March 14, 2018
Today’s main focus was Operation Streamline.
Operation Streamline is a federal court preceding that happens every weekday at the federal district court in Tucson where up to 70 immigrants receive prison sentences. They are charged with the felony of re-entry after deportation and the misdemeanor of illegal entry.
Most of the men and women we saw through this process had been caught at the border a few days before their sentence. We sat at the back of the courthouse and watched groups of 6-8 men and women go up, answer a few questions and receive their sentences that varied from 0 to 160 days in privately-owned detention centers.
Watching this process was very difficult for us. The process is usually completed in less than 5 minutes and we could see the confusion in their faces as they walked in with their pre-assigned representatives. These representatives were only given about 30 minutes to speak with their representees; which isn’t enough time to understand the true complexity of their case.
There was one particular client that had a language and education barrier. His attorney informed the judge about the barriers and the judge made an effort to accomodate him but it was still not enough. When asked if he pleaded guilty, he responded “No ma’am, I will not return to your country.” This proved that he was still not fully understanding what was being asked. It was truly heartbreaking seeing the struggle and confusion we saw in this man and many of the other faces.
When they pleaded guilty, we would also hear so much hopelessness in their voices and even fear. After such a long journey only to be detained at the border must have been earth-shattering.
After being sentenced, one of the representatives informed the judge that his client expressed credible fear to return to his country. The judge took note of it but we heard nothing more of the matter. Another man who was sentenced to a detention center mentioned that he had diabetes and required special care. Based on what we have learned, we know there is a small chance this will be taken into consideration.
After watching ths process, the judge took the time to answer some of our questions. Her responses gave us mixed feelings about her attitude towards these immigrants. It was clear that she felt bad for the immigrants but was unwilling to take any of the blame; she believe only Mexico was to blame for the issue.
The rest of the day, we listened to stories of immigrants and their journeys.
By: Karina Diaz and Melissa Olivera