Immigration crackdown expands along border | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Immigration crackdown expands along border | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Immigration crackdown expands along border Laredo effort signals an end to return without prosecutions By JAMES PINKERTON Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle TOOLS Email Get section feed Print Subscribe NOW Comments (150) Recommend (5) Related links Speak out Blog: Immigration watch Voice your opinion on immigration Graphics Graphic: Locations of new border checkpoints More Complete coverage of immigration issues The U.S. Border Patrol plans to announce today a 'zero tolerance' operation to prosecute, jail and deport all illegal immigrants caught in the bustling Laredo area, marking a significant tightening of immigration enforcement along a key U.S. border corridor. This stepped-up effort is an expansion of the Border Patrol's 'Operation Streamline' project in the Del Rio and Yuma, Ariz., sectors, which sharply reduced illegal entries. That is being expanded to the sprawling Laredo sector beginning Wednesday, officials confirmed. Extending the operation to a large, populous sector such as Laredo — the nation's largest inland port and a growing commercial center — signals a major expansion of a strategy officials plan to implement along the entire Southwest border."