The Trump administration has reinstated criminal prosecution against first-time border-crossers.
"Operation Streamline" was partially suspended under President Barack Obama. It slaps first-time border-crossers with a misdemeanor charge before sending them home. Repeat offenders then face felony charges.
“The policy has been on the books for years and years and years, it was just a situation where the Obama administration chose or selected not to enforce the law,” says Curtis Collier at U.S. Border Watch.
Officials at Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection were not available for comment.
However, Tim Foley with Arizona Border Recon says it doesn't go far enough.
“Its nice to streamline it and deport them right away, but geesh, we've got guys that have been deported 13 times and they're still coming back,” says Foley. “It's a revolving door down here.”
Curtis Collier disagrees, calling it one more hurdle to discourage illegal aliens from coming in the first place.
“They won't have the money to pay a 'coyote' because the prices are going up, so that will stop some infiltration into our country,” he says. “But just there's also the idea that people travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles, and then they're either not able to get in or apprehended and returned.”