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

DIGIE

Gibson Group Technical Director David Crossan observing the ...

DIGIE

Staff member of the El Paso Museum of History Lisa Heinemann ...

DIGIE

From left to right, Gibson Group Director of Exhibitions Allan ...

DIGIE

From left to right Senior Curator Barbara Angus, Staff member of ...

DIGIE

From left to right Staff member of the El Paso Museum of History ...

DIGIE

From left to right Development Director of the El Paso Museum of ...

DIGIE

Gibson Group Director of Exhibitions - Allan Smith observing the ...

DIGIE

From left to right Senior Curator Barbara Angus and Staff member ...

El Museo de Arte en El Paso

El Paso Museum of Art

USBC Bowling Tournament

El Paso Strikes Again! 2015 El Paso Bowling Tournament.

FAM Tour 2014

Visit El Paso FAM Tour 2014

Fan Fiesta 2013

Fan Fiesta at the El Paso Convention Center

Folklorico Dancers 2013

Folklorico Dancers 2013

Folklorico Dancers 2010

Folklorico Dancers 2010

Plaza Theater 2013

Foreigner at The Plaza Theater 2013

Fungi Mungle 2014

Fan Fiesta 2014. El Paso Convention Center.

Gallery 2014

Galley 2014

Youth Dance Performance 2014

Youth Dance Performance 2014 - Downtown El Paso, Texas.

El Museo de Historia

El Paso History Museum 2013

El Paso History Museum

El Paso History Museum Exhibit 2013

Digie

Image of the building of the Digital Wall 2015.

Plaza Hotel

The old Plaza Hotel at Mills and Oregon.

Rainbow over Downtown El Paso

Double rainbow over downtown El Paso.

home.search_collection