Operation Gatekeeper was a measure implemented during the presidency of Bill Clinton by the United States Border Patrol (then a part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)), aimed at halting illegal immigration to the United States at the United States–Mexico border near San Diego, California.[1] According to the INS, the goal of Gatekeeper was "to restore integrity and safety to the nation's busiest border."
Operation Gatekeeper was announced in Los Angeles on September 17, 1994, by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and was launched two weeks later on October 1. According to an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, the number of immigrant apprehensions at Imperial Beach in San Diego for the first week of October in 1994, compared to the first week of October in 1993, was 1,470 more. [2] This shows the effect that the increased number of agents and border security personnel had on the immigration issues that were present in San Diego.
The United States Congress allocated additional funds to the Border Patrol and other agencies. By 1997, the budget of the Immigration and Naturalization Service had doubled to 800 million dollars, the number of Border Patrol agents had nearly doubled, the amount of fencing or other barriers more than doubled, and the number of underground sensors nearly tripled.
The merits of Operation Gatekeeper were debated extensively, including during congressional hearings. The Department of Justice, the INS, and the Border Patrol maintained that Operation Gatekeeper was a success. Some members of Congress and others sharply criticized the program and declared it a failure.[3]
The resulting statistics of Operation Gatekeeper gave the impression that its measures successfully prevented immigrants from traveling into the country through the San Diego area sector by showing lower apprehension numbers. However, these immigrant movements were really funneled to eastern borders towards Tucson and El Paso. In a Los Angeles Times article, editor Kristina Davis claims that Border Patrol data indicates a 591% increase in border apprehensions for the Tucson sector from 1992 to 2004. [4]
- ^ See Joseph Nevins, Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the "Illegal Alien" and the Making of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary (Routledge, 2002)
- ^ "Operation Gatekeeper and the San Diego Sector". Office of the Inspector General. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Operation Gatekeeper: An Investigation Into Allegations of Fraud and Misconduct
- ^ Davis, Kristina (30 September 2019). "Operation Gatekeeper at 25: Look back at the turning point that transformed the border". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 March 2023.