Press Releases

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) wrote a letter addressed to Attorney General Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Johnson and U.S. Attorney for Arizona John Leonardo regarding alterations to the prosecutorial guidelines prescribed in Operation Streamline.

“The Obama Administration has once again taken executive action to undermine our system of laws. It should come as no surprise that the President, the Attorney General and the other relevant officials have once again succumbed to pressures from liberal interest groups who have been complaining of this legitimate law enforcement operation for years now. This issue was brought to my attention by Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, who informed me that his department learned of these changes in a recent briefing offered by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

"The Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney have now indicated they will no longer prosecute illegal immigrants under Title 8, United States Code, § 1325. This dereliction will completely undermine the United States’ ‘zero tolerance’ policy established through Operation Streamline and flies in the face of years of work conducted by federal, state and local law enforcement to secure our communities and our borders.

“It seems like a never-ending cycle these days. The Administration acts to circumvent the law, Congress makes legitimate Congressional inquiries, and… silence. Nothing. Zilch. I am sick and tired of this Administration—which promised to be the most transparent in history—constantly seeking to tilt the scales on our age-old systems of checks and balances. I will not stand for it, and I will continue to seek the answers the people deserve.”

Background:

Congressman Gosar’s letter, including the original letter from Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, can be found in its entirety HERE.

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