Sen. Jeff Flake calls for ‘zero tolerance’ of illegal border crossing
Jun 23, 2017, 5:33 PM
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — A letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions from U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) advocated for the restoration of a “zero tolerance” approach to illegal border crossings as part of Operation Streamline.
Operation Streamline was put in place in 2005 as a Border Patrol initiative to “refer aliens entering the United States illegally for the first time or attempting reentry to DOJ for criminal prosecution,” according to a report from the Office of Inspector General.
In his letter, Flake intimated that the effectiveness of Operation Streamline was dwindling away.
“Unfortunately, despite (Operation Streamline’s) effectiveness, the previous administration sought to water down its deterrent effect by shifting its policy to targeting only first-time illegal border crossers whom had a known criminal history or were otherwise a threat to public safety,” Flake wrote to Sessions.
Flake also included three questions to Sessions, the former Senator who was appointed to Attorney General by President Donald Trump. All three questions press Sessions on his belief in the initiative and whether it would continue as originally intended.
