An earlier version incorrectly stated the Trump administration was suspending prosecutions for parents of migrant children.
Maureen Franco, the chief public defender for the Western District of Texas, said she was told Thursday by U.S. Attorney John Franklin Bash that he was suspending prosecutions of misdemeanor and felony illegal entry cases involving people who were apprehended with children.
Robert J. Shane, a lawyer for a man who received a suspended prosecution, said, "If Craig would have had an attorney, I think he could have got that type of agreement".
No trials have been scheduled, and none of the men have had charges dismissed, although two were given "suspended prosecution" in which their records may be expunged after a year.
The agreement - similar to regimes in the US and the UK - essentially suspends prosecution while allowing a firm to sign on to an agreement that could see it face alternative terms or conditions, like penalties or enhanced compliance measures.
The prime minister's former attorney general and justice minister, Jody Wilson-Raybould, has said she faced attempts at political interference from Mr Trudeau and his inner circle - including Mr Wernick - over whether to make a deal that would have suspended prosecution against SNC-Lavalin.
The Security Council, which has the power to suspend prosecutions, was reportedly ready to agree if Mr. Kony signed.
Indeed, the Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that in the absence of sufficient funds for a defense, judges should suspend prosecutions.
All 18 people named in the two dozen suspended prosecutions have Hispanic surnames, prompting accusations of racial profiling from the Mexican Consulate here and Hispanic organizations.
It compares the effectiveness and costs of sending minor criminals to court with using a "turning point contract", which combines a deferred prosecution with a set of conditions intended to prevent future reoffending, not unlike Mr Grayling's suspended prosecutions.
For more serious infractions, suspended prosecutions will allow the police to attach reparative or punitive conditions which, if broken, will result in the case going to court.Some think the new measures are unnecessary and could be counterproductive.
