US to End "Catch and Release"

The US is trying to close a legal loophole which has allowed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to slip into the country and to remain unchecked. Under long-standing procedure along the U.S. border with Mexico, illegal crossers of nationalities other than Mexican (OTMs) have been entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge before they could be deported. Because of a severe shortage of space to hold them until the hearing, they were released after being fingerprinted and given a "notice to appear," a document stating they had agreed to show up at court at a certain date.

The notice serves as a travel document allowing its holder past Border Patrol checkpoints on the roads leading from the border to the interior. Most OTMs do not show up for their hearing and meld into the population.