WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- U.S. law enforcement agencies are carrying out criminal prosecutions of record numbers of illegal immigrants, officials say.
However, there is a debate about whether the outcome of the vigorous prosecution policy is worth the cost, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Citing new U.S. data, the newspaper said Operation Streamline involves criminal prosecution, often on minor charges, of virtually everyone caught crossing some parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff told Congress this year the program "has a great deterrent effect" and the department is trying to expand it beyond the places in Texas and Arizona where it has been implemented.
Opponents say the policy is diverting resources from enforcement of more serious matters, such as drug and human smuggling, the newspaper reported.
Melissa Wagner -- a spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. -- says there is a shortage of jail beds and public defenders in areas where the policy is being carried out.
"Operation Streamline in its current form already strains the capabilities of the law enforcement system past the breaking point," said Wagner.
