TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol has renewed its policy to prosecute human smugglers on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border.
In an effort to enhance public safety across the Southwest, the Border Patrol implemented “Operation Against Smugglers Initiative on Safety and Security” in 2005.
The program enables the prosecution of Mexican human smugglers through Mexican courts, using information obtained from interviews conducted by Border Patrol agents while in U.S. custody.
The program was postponed this past year due to a change in Mexican federal court procedural directives.
However, public safety concerns for migrants in northern Mexico prompted a recent bi-national agreement to facilitate OASISS prosecution in Mexican courts.
In fiscal year 2016, the Tucson Sector submitted 143 human smugglers to the Mexico government as OASIS candidates for prosecution.
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