Thread by @TomJawetz

Castro, Booker, and Beto have now each elaborated on their positions with respect to 1325 misdemeanor illegal entry prosecutions.'

Although there are distinctions between those positions, they may largely be without difference. /1

8 USC 1325 makes it a criminal misdemeanor to enter the country without authorization. It's been the law for 90 years but was rarely used until the final years of the George W. Bush administration. /2

This chart from @TRACReports shows the spike in ALL #immigration prosecutions (not just 1325) in 2008, followed by high prosecution numbers during the early Obama years and a sustained drop late in 2014 that carried through until a sharp increase under Trump. /3

In April 2019, nearly three quarters of the cases filed in US Magistrate Courts involved illegal entry (1325) or illegal entry after removal (1326) charges.

In U.S. District Courts, 1326 prosecutions have topped the list for at least the past 5 years. /4 trac.syr.edu/tracreports/bu…

Given the incredible number of people being funneled into this prosecution mill, federal courts have made a mockery of due process, throwing dozens of defendants into court at the same time with a single defense attorney who has only met them for a few minutes at most. /5

During the Obama Administration, the @DHSOIG concluded that CBP did not have sufficient tools to demonstrate that Operation Streamline prosecutions--which have clogged federal courts and transformed our federal prison system--have any deterrent effect. /6 oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/20…

The OIG also found that in 2 of 4 Border Patrol sectors visited, some asylum seekers were being referred for prosecution before any assessment was made of whether they possessed a credible or reasonable fear of persecution. This appeared to violate US obligations under law. /7

Under the Trump administration, 1325 prosecutions have been fully weaponized, turned into a tool to separate thousands of children from their parents and to punish asylum seekers in a cruel and ineffective attempt at sending a message that the US will no longer offer refuge. /8

To be clear, 1325 prosecutions long took place without the widespread separation of families. And families are being separated under Trump even without 1325 prosecutions, including when families come to the ports of entry to request protection. /9

https://twitter.com/TomJawetz/status/1144283744699912192

.@BetoORourke last year co-sponsored HR 6135, the Keeping Families Together Act, which would end the prosecution of asylum seekers and prohibit family separation except where necessary to protect the child's safety. 1325 may be used where necessary to protect public safety. /10

.@CoryBooker today outlined a plan to end the "zero tolerance" prosecution policy that contributed to family separation, end Operation Streamline, and deprioritize these prosecutions except where necessary to deal with a threat to public safety. /11

Finally, @JulianCastro has pressed for a legislative repeal of Section 1325, throwing down the gauntlet during the first presidential debate. /12

All three positions would prevent the largely indiscriminate use of 1325 prosecutions dating back to the end of the Bush administration.

All three would end prosecutions of asylum seekers.

All three would stop prosecutions from triggering separations. /13

So here's a key question: is it enough to call for an end to abusive prosecutions that separate families and undercut due process--and to call for the judicious use of prosecutions going forward--OR should the tool of 1325 prosecutions be removed from the toolbox entirely? /14

That's a fair debate to have and well-informed people can come down on different ends of that debate. But to be clear, no one--including @JulianCastro--is calling for an easily caricatured "open borders," position. /15