Immigration Crackdown: Department of Justice cuts, reassigns 81 immigration prosecutors

Houston Chronicle: "Barry Disney was the first and only federal prosecutor in Kansas dedicated solely to handling criminal immigration cases... Disney's job as an assistant U.S. attorney in Kansas was created under a supplemental appropriation passed last year in the Southwest Border Security Bill, an initiative targeting criminal immigration cases and Mexican drug cartels.

With the end of the federal fiscal year on Friday, the temporary funding for 81 immigration-dedicated federal prosecutors like him has also ended, Justice Department spokeswoman Jessica Smith said in Washington. Disney is one of 13 whose jobs were cut, while 68 others are being reassigned within the Justice Department. "My frustration was that they added these positions in 2011 because they were needed; the need did not go away," Disney said.

Sixty-eight of the prosecutors will return to their old jobs and will still be able to work on Southwest Border Initiative cases, but not exclusively as they have for the past year, the Justice Department said. Justice officials have confirmed the reductions but have refused to elaborate on them."

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