The prisoners were in chains as they were brought before the judge in U.S. district court in Tucson on November 12. The seven women and sixty men had handcuffs that were attached to a chain wrapped around their waist and shackles on their feet that were connected with another chain. Their crime was having crossed a man-made line in the desert in search of work.
They were seated on the left side of the courtroom and visitors were restricted to the right side of the gallery. I noticed that the front row of the visitors section was vacant and I asked the guard if I could sit there. He replied that the row was closed because, “They want to keep the public as far away from the prisoners as they can.”
The judge called the people up in groups of six. The first 55 people were charged with two crimes - re-entry after deportation and illegal entry. He told them that re-entry is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison, and that illegal entry is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Each person had signed a plea agreement with the federal prosecutor that morning in which they pleaded guilty to illegal entry and the felony charge was dismissed. The judge asked each of them, “Are you a citizen of Mexico (or Guatemala or Honduras) and did you enter the United States near Nogales (or another town), Arizona at a time and place other than one designated by an immigration officer?” He then sentenced each of them to the time on the plea agreement, which ranged from 30 to 180 days.
The process lasted an average of six minutes per group - one minute per person. “This shit is f…ed up!” shouted one of the prisoners while another group was in front of the judge. I agreed, thinking that he was commenting on the process. It turns out his headset didn’t work and he couldn’t hear the Spanish translation of the proceedings. That happened with the headsets for several people.
The vast majority of the people had been apprehended that week, some just the day before the hearing. The judge asked each person if they wanted to say anything prior to their sentencing and only one did. She was a single mother who had left her daughter with a neighbor, and she was worried about how she could pay for that care (now in jail instead of having found work). She asked the judge to reduce her time. He responded that he had to accept the sentence of 95 days in her plea agreement; and if she refused that agreement, she could face up to two years in prison.
The last 12 people were charged with the one crime of illegal entry and were sentenced to the time they had served since being apprehended that week.
This process is named Operation Streamline and it occurs every day, Monday through Friday, at 1:30 P.M. The program began in Tucson in 2008 and targets migrants who are apprehended along the border in Arizona. The goal is to convict 100 people a day with misdemeanors so that they will face stiffer penalties if they cross the border again.
I’m going to Nogales, Sonora tomorrow to start working as a volunteer with the Hope and Peace community center.
The center is a sister organization of BorderLinks (
http://www.borderlinks.org/) which has been carrying out educational delegations to the Borderlands for more than 20 years.
I’ve been here in Tucson for a week of orientation and training, and that afternoon in court taught me a lesson on racism and oppression that I will never forget.
Photos of the U.S. district court in Tucson (cameras are not allowed inside):
