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.

Área: Central / Downtown

Fuente: 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.

Cargado por: UTEP Library Special Collections

Comentarios

Hacer un comentario
Gracias por su comentario

Reportar esta entrada

Elige la razón más importante para este reporte

Tu nombre

Tu correo electrónico

Detalle opcional

Gracias por su reporte

Más sobre la misma comunidad-colección

El Paso Police motorcycle officers - 1984

From the Left: Captain Tony Garganta, Severo Jimenez, Sgt. Dan ...

El Paso Police sergeants

Left to right: Clark, McKnight, Ott, Funk and Fitzgerald. Notice ...

Destruction of Evidence

Destruction of slot machines - 1945 Left to right: Chief L.T. ...

El Paso Police motorcycle officers - 1918

Capt. Joe Stowe and another officer inspecting new police ...

Ruth Schwartz Wedding Party - El Paso, Texas

Ruth Schwartz , daughter of Fannie & Adolph Schwartz ( Founder ...

Adolph Schwartz Family

Fannie and Adolph Schwartz ; daughter Ruth ; sons Ervin and ...

Ruth Schwartz Zork with Daughter Marian Eleanor Zork

Ruth Schwartz Zork , daughter of Adolph Schwartz with daughter ...

Luis Zork feb20,1899

Luis Zork son of Bertha Krakauer Zork and Gustave Zork of ...

Adolph Schwartz founder of Popular Dry Good Co

Adolph Schwartz with his grandchildren Marian Eleanor Zork ( ...

Fannie Amstater Schwartz

Fannie Amstater Schwartz with daughter Ruth Schwartz 1906

Popular Dry Goods Co Tienda

In 1903 the Popular Dry Goods Co. store was founded by Adolph ...

Zork/Given Wedding

Marian Eleanor Zork weds Robert Harvey Given Oct 26,1946 ...

Amstater/ Schwartz Wedding

Fannie Amstater weds Adolph Schwartz Jan28,1894

El Paso Police Mounted Officers - 1974

left to right: Richards Edens, Karl Beasley, Al Kasten, Jim ...

El Paso Police Department - 1909

El Paso Police Department - 1909

El Paso Police Department - 1901 - El Paso, Texas

The El Paso City Police Department - 1901. A few short years ...

El Paso Police Department - 1921

El Paso Police Department - 1921 In front of 219 S. Campbell ...

Gustave Zork Family

Gustave Zork ( Krakauer,Zork & Moye ) Bertha Krakauer Zork Luis ...

Debbie Reynolds and Rick Kern

Photo: Rick Kern and Debbie Reynolds "This was Debbie at the ...

Krakauer,Zork and Moye, El Paso, Texas

Krakauer, Zork & Moye 117 San Francisco St. 1910( second ...

Mariscal de la Ciudad Dallas Stoudenmire - 1882

This is now at the El Paso Museum of History.

El Paso, Texas Dallas Stoudenmire Mariscal de la Ciudad de El Paso - 1881

El Paso City Marshall Dallas Stoudenmire with his deputy ...

home.search_collection