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

Vaquero Sculpture

Fiberglass sculpture, formerly in placed in front of El Paso ...

Cleveland Square Project

Warning signs for the Cleveland Square landscaping project, ...

Old Advertisements, Mills Ave.

204 Mills Ave., wall exposed during demolition of neighboring ...

Train Depot - 2013

Railroad Museum - 2013

Union Plaza - 2013

Photograph of Union Plaza - location downtown El Paso, Texas - ...

USBC 2015

Convention Center 2015

USBC Ribbon Cutting 2010

Convention Center

USBC Women's Championship 2010

Convention Center 2010

Christmas Fair 2013

Convention Center 2013

Christmas in Downtown El Paso

Downtown 2013 - Downtown El Paso, Texas.

The Grocery Gallery

Shot of the outside of the Grocery Gallery in the downtown, ...

Haunted House Cast - El Paso, Texas

Cast of the Haunted House from the El Paso Public Library Main ...

Swallowtail Butterfly

Swallowtail butterfly feeding on orange Bird of Paradise ...

Duke University Band - El Paso, Texas

Duke University Band played at the Sunbowl Luncheon in 2014. It ...

Tentacles Take Over

Art installation at 2014 Chalk the Block event.

Social Distortion at Tricky Falls

Social Distortion plays for a huge crowd at Tricky Falls in ...

Pedestrian Pathway

Pedestrian Pathway cost around $3,000.000.00 and was completed ...

Good food at the Chihuahua's game with good friends!

2014 Larry Brunt, Sonya Cahalan, Jackie Ramirez and Suzy Santo ...

Franklin Elementary School - El Paso, Tejas

This is a photo of Franklin Elementary School which was located ...

Lea

Spanish books for Young Adults on display at the El Paso Public ...

Cruising Downtown

Dane Aguilar, librarian at El Paso Public Library, Main Library, ...

TARDIS art at Chalk the Block

A chalk drawing of the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Taken at Chalk ...

Window Painting

Young adults and kids helped to paint the windows in Teen Town ...

home.search_collection