Operation Hold the Line 1993

Operation Hold the Line 1993

The image shows the U.S. Border Patrol during Operation Hold the Line in 1993. Operation Hold the Line was a preventative measure taken by the United States Border Patrol, initiated on September 19, 1993, on the United States-Mexico border in El Paso. Silvestre Reyes, who was the head of the El Paso Border Control at the time, ordered his officers to form a human and vehicle blockade along the border. There were four hundred agents and vehicles every 100 yards from one side of El Paso to the other, creating a virtual and visible human wall of enforcement, in order to prevent illegal immigration. Unlike the previous attempts, Reyes’ blockade stayed in place until the Immigration and Naturalization Service saw the success it was having and permanently funded it. It is still in effect today. The rise of illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s was caused by the collapse of the Mexican economy due to inflation. El Paso's Border Patrol agents, which numbered 600 then, were overwhelmed by the number of migrants rushing across the border daily. The Operation was the first of its kind and represented a shift in ideology in policing illegal immigration. Previous policies focused on finding and deporting illegal immigrants who had already crossed the border. Instead, Operation Hold the Line focused on intercepting and preventing illegal entries at the border. The Operation affected El Paso and the surrounding areas instantly and in different ways: On one hand, the apprehensions in the El Paso sector dropped significantly (from about 1,500 people a day to less than 100 a day). The success of the Operation led to the introduction of legislation that focused on border security. On the other hand, the number of immigrants who die trying to cross the border has risen significantly, because they attempt to cross the border in remote desert areas, which have less security. Also, illegal immigrants, who successfully cross the border, stay in the United States longer than before, rather than risking arrest traveling back and forth from Mexico. During the first weeks of the Operation, there were protests on both sides of the border, and the Catholic bishops of Southern New Mexico, El Paso and Juárez came out against it. Hundreds of Juárez residents took part in demonstrations because they could no longer get to their jobs in El Paso. Consequently, one of the immediate effects was also that it left thousands of people from Juarez unemployed, who had been crossing the border daily for their jobs in El Paso. About a week into the operation, there was a standoff between protesters and U.S. officials at the Paso del Norte International Bridge. They threatened to pour into the north, and the Border Patrol had to shut down one side of the bridge.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library. Collection Name: El Paso Times 1994 Operation Hold the Line. Photo ID: PH032-9--22A-035.

Uploaded by: UTEP Library Special Collections

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Joe Gomez with Rudy

Joe Gomez with Rudy Ruttiger Notre Dame. Movie Rudy based on ...

San Jacinto Plaza under construction.

One of my favorite buildings downtown is the Mills Building, you ...

O.T. Bassett Tower

Downtown El Paso has amazing beauty, you just have look up.

Sun Carnival 1939 - Video

Sun Carnival fourth annual goes western. Video of stagecoach and ...

San Jacinto Plaza

San Jacinto Plaza before renovation. In 2014, the statue of ...

Downtown

Old advertising ads

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015. Robert ...

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015. Robert ...

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE - El Paso, Texas

Members of the construction crew and city are testing the ...

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Digital Wall is being tested--January 23, 2015.

DIGIE

The Gibson Group and construction crew test the Digital Wall.

Luis Jimenez - El Paso, Texas

Mr. Jimenez was born in El Paso in 1940. His father owned an ...

Christmas Downtown

Christmas lights in 2014-2015 at Downtown El Paso.

First Wall of Giants

El Paso's First Wall of Giants dedicated to Don Haskins and the ...

First Wall of Giants dedicated to Don Haskins and his team

El Paso's First Wall of Giants dedicated to Don Haskins and the ...

Display case with memorabilia. Mary Haskins & Joe Gomez

Display case with memorabilia. Credit: Mary Haskins and Joe ...

home.search_collection