Operation gatekeeper

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The Operation Gatekeeper was in 1994 by the US government under Bill Clinton implemented new control strategy to curb the flow of migrants in San Diego -sector the Mexico-United States border . The strategy was to reduce the illegal immigration to the United States , the shift of the migration flows to the east and the increase in the risk of arrest of immigrants without an entry visa or residence permit , which building by a significant increase in staff and equipment of the border authorities and stronger Fuses the border should be reached.

The operation was developed by the Center for Low Intensity Conflict (CLIC), an agency of the US Department of Defense , announced on September 17, 1994 by US Attorney General Janet Reno, and implemented two weeks later on October 1, 1994.

Funding / resources

The agency's budget grew approximately three times that amount, increasing from $ 375 million to $ 952 million. The total number of US Border Patrol personnel had doubled to approximately 8,200 by 1999. In areas such as San Diego and El Paso, Texas , miles of new steel fences have been erected and border guards have been equipped with high-tech equipment.

Phases of implementation

Phase I focused on the section with the highest number of migrants, an area about five miles wide around Checkpoint Imperial Beach, which extends from the west coast to the San Ysidro Point of Entry. The increased controls caused an immediate shift of migrant routes to the east and an increase in professional people smugglers . A program launched by the US Border Patrol in May 1995 under the name Operation Disruption was intended to curb the growing number of people smuggling.

Phase II, which began in early 1996, expanded the affected region to include the entire San Diego sector. Residents of East San Diego County had exerted pressure due to the surge in illegal border crossings there. Another step was to push migrants to more inhospitable areas like the Tecate Mountains . Phase II included the introduction of IDENT, a computer system to identify repeat offenders, "criminal migrants" and criminals without US citizenship.

Phase III started in October 1997, the activities expanded in the El Centro sector of which extends from the eastern border of San Diego to the border between California and Arizona extends. The consequence was a further shift in the flow of migrants to the desert areas further east.

Effects

The increased border security in the San Diego area caused a strong shift in migration flows to impassable regions, especially east of Mexicali and the region around Tecate . The high temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the desert areas there led to a sharp increase in deaths. Between October 1, 1994 and October 1, 1998, at least 322 and by October 2004 about 3000 migrants died when crossing the border into the USA, most of them from heat stroke or dehydration . Before 1994 there were around 20 to 30 deaths a year.

On June 23, 1996, a local San Diego newspaper reported that Operation Gatekeeper was denounced as a failure by two representatives of the National Border Patrol Council and that senior Border Patrol officials were accused of forging documents and misleading the public about the effectiveness of the program . The allegations were repeated in July 1996 before a California State Assembly subcommittee, in August before a Congressional subcommittee and in other media. In July 1996, the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) began the investigation. The investigation report, which includes eight categories of allegations, was presented in July 1998.

The effects of Operation Gatekeeper are recorded by the US / Mexico Border Program and Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project of the human rights organization American Friends Service Committee .

See also

Web links

literature

swell

  1. ↑ a b USA / Mexico: Critical assessment of non-governmental organizations on four years of “Operation Gatekeeper” ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Migration and Population, August 1998 edition
  2. ^ Bill Vann : Operation Gatekeeper claims the lives of 444 immigrant workers in five years World Socialist Web Site, October 9, 1999
  3. ^ Operation Gatekeeper Fact Sheet ( Memento of July 8, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) www.stopgatekeeper.org
  4. ^ US Border Patrol in S. California Developing Deadly But Ineffective Operation Gatekeeper Interview with Roberto Martinez, In Motion Magazine, December 12, 1999
  5. ^ Tenth Anniversary of Operation Gatekeeper Interview with Roberto Martinez, October 2, 2004, In Motion Magazine, February 1, 2005
  6. ^ Operation Gatekeeper: An Investigation Into Allegations of Fraud and Misconduct (July, 1998) USDOJ / OIG Special Report