Departing Airline Passengers Detained, Prosecuted ... Then Deported
As individuals stand in line at the airport waiting to fly home, it might seem that arresting them for violating immigration laws—so that they can be jailed, tried and deported to the very country to which they had planned to travel at their own expense—isn’t the most effective use of prosecutorial resources.
But that’s the approach that has been pursued concerning at least five individuals headed home via Bush Intercontinental Airport since July, four of them in the past three months, reports the Houston Chronicle.
All had been deported previously, so it was appropriate to arrest them for returning to the country, says U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle of Houston. “We feel it’s definitely worth the resources to hold these people accountable.”
However, Marjorie Meyers, the federal public defender for Houston, argues that the approach isn’t cost-effective. “What’s silly about this is that they are on their way home,” she says. “They have gotten the message that they shouldn’t be here.”
