III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 104 

To express the sense of the Senate regarding the success of Operation 

Streamline and the importance of prosecuting first time illegal border crossers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2015 

Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mr. MCCAIN) 

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

To express the sense of the Senate regarding the success 

of Operation Streamline and the importance of prosecuting first time illegal border crossers. 

Whereas the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector has long grappled 

with the crossing of undocumented aliens and has seen 

illegal traffic decline precipitously from the early 2000s 

to the present; 

Whereas a combination of increased manpower, technology 

implementation, and the delivery of appropriate consequences have resulted in gains in border security in the 

Yuma Sector; 

Whereas a key to the success in the Yuma Sector has been 

the implementation of Operation Streamline, a program 

established in 2005 that was described by former DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 18, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR104.IS SR104

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•SRES 104 IS 

ment of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano 

as ‘‘a DHS partnership with the Department of Justice, 

. . . a geographically focused operation that aims to increase the consequences for illegally crossing the border 

by criminally prosecuting illegal border-crossers.’’; 

Whereas known for its ‘‘zero-tolerance’’ approach, the Yuma 

County Sheriff’s Office cites 100 percent prosecution of 

illegal border crossers as a shared goal of a partnership 

including Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies; 

Whereas among the various consequences delivered to illegal 

crossers by the Department of Homeland Security, Operation Streamline is associated with a recidivism rate that 

is well below average and has seen a steady decrease in 

recidivism in recent years; 

Whereas the United States Attorney’s Office for the District 

of Arizona will reportedly no longer be prosecuting those 

apprehended crossing the border illegally for the first 

time; and 

Whereas according to the Sheriff of Yuma County, Operation 

Streamline ‘‘had a deterrent effect in Yuma County, 

which gained a reputation as an area to avoid crossing 

into because if caught, you were assured to go to court 

and possibly face penalties’’, but now the program ‘‘has 

been severely diluted.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) gains made in border security in the Yuma 

3 Sector and positive trends in recidivism rates are of 

4 critical importance to those living and working in 

5 the border region and to the Nation as a whole; 


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•SRES 104 IS 

1 (2) refusing to prosecute first time illegal bor2 der crossers under Operation Streamline will jeop3 ardize border security gains; 

4 (3) the border security steps that have led to 

5 some measure of improvement on the border, such 

6 as the historical implementation of Operation 

7 Streamline, should be preserved; and 

8 (4) the Executive Branch should immediately 

9 remove any issued or related prohibition, policy, 

10 guidance, or direction to cease prosecuting first time 

11 illegal border crossers under Operation Streamline. 

Æ 


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