Border Control and Deaths Exam 2
"Prevention through Deterrence"
Policy that is still enforced today. The title of BP strategy is "Hold the Line in the 21st Century".
Local policy implemented in 1993. By 1994 the BP and other departments of government designed a
BP strategy using the El Paso model.
Strategy that DeLeon critiques in his book. Human rights activists say it's a violation of human rights to
redirect people to the desert, BP says it's just fine
Nestor immigration research center
- 1995 - Nestor Rodriguez wanting to start Center for Immigration Research at University of Houston.
- He had a friend who worked for the American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers) and she
asked how many people die at the border every year. He called researchers in California and nobody
knew.
- No one had studied how many people die at the border every year. He got funding from the Quakers
to study this. Two graduate students worked with him to collect this data.
- The only people who had a count of anything was firefighters, but nobody was keeping data on
migrant death.
- Graduate students went to counties through to El Paso to find someone with a count.
Border Patrol Strategic Plan 1994 and Beyond
Unauthorized Mexican migration surges (*graph on slide*)
Prevention through deterrence (different from previous strategy because before BP was focused on
apprehension). Focus is now on discouraging migrants from crossing and redirecting migrants to
terrain that is away from large cities
This change in policy happened because of the change in migration patterns
- The estimated numbers of undocumented Mexican migrants increased (starts around 1970)
---- When the braceros couldn't come legally anymore because program ended, they kept coming to
work because employers were still happy to hire them (wasn't until 1986 that it was made illegal to
hire someone who is undocumented)
- And since there has been a border, there has always been a segment of society that opposes
migration and wants more BP
Unauthorized Mexican migration surges graph, 1970-2004
- number of immigrant admitted stays low until 1988, when there's a spike until 1993 (lowest number
of the three)
- number of deportable immigrants has steadily increased (second highest number on graph)
- estimated unauthorized entries has increased (big spike 1985-1988; big spike 1995-2001 - dramatic
dropoff after 2001)
Bracero Program
- Agribusiness asked Washington to make a treaty with Mexico to bring in farmworkers (because US
workers were going to war and they needed a labor force)
- Designed a treaty to bring Mexican workers and some went to do railroad construction work
- Importations of Braceros, 1942-1964 (*graph on slide*)
- Idea was to make it a wartime program, that would end after WWII
- After WWII, Bracero program only increased
,- Workers were brought in trains for the harvest, and after the harvest was done they would be sent
back to Mexico until the next year. People weren't allowed to bring their families; it was just the
workers themselves
- Meant US could benefit from Mexican labor, while Mexico bore the cost of the production of labor
(meaning US didn't have to pay for more schools, etc.)
- Mixed reactions about program from former braceros: some people loved it and other people hated
it
--- A lot of braceros were promised that some of their wage would be sent to Mexico (so that they
would have a retirement fund when they were no longer working). When people went to access those
funds, the banks in Mexico hadn't received anything (but US companies say they sent the money)
- The program was kept alive because it was supported by the Department of Agriculture (which was
close to agribusiness), and it was increased because of them
- Department of Labor (and unions) was very opposed to this program
- After 1964 - even though program ended, people kept coming to work
- Bracero program had a quota (so not everybody who went to the recruitment center to find work
was able to get a job) - so many Mexican workers who were not recruited as braceros came anyway
--- At the early part of the bracero program Mexico didn't agree to send braceros to Texas because
Texas was a very anti-Mexican state
--- So at first Texas didn't have a lot of braceros, but they had a lot of undocumented migration
Because so many people were leaving Mexico to work, Mexico pressured US to increase its border
enforcement so that they wouldn't lose as many workers
Importations of Braceros Graph
- numbers stayed low through 1948
- small spikes in numbers after 1948
- huge spike in 1953 - kept increasing until around 1960/61 when it starts to dropoff
Operation Wetback
By 1954, BP has deported over 1 million undocumented Mexican people back to Mexico
US Responses to Surge of Unauthorized Migration
Amnesty and employer sanctions through IRCA in 1986
- Any employer who hires undocumented workers will be punished with fines or even prison time
- Offered amnesty to the undocumented population in the US
---- About 3 million (mostly Mexicans) got amnesty
- Did not increase border patrol resources (so people were still able to enter the US)
- Employers did not stop hiring undocumented people
- Big corporations: still want to use cheap labor, so instead of hiring workers they would subcontract
with people who hired labor for them
---- Some corporations met the letter of the law but didn't follow the law (they wouldn't actually
thoroughly check people's IDs)
Operation Blockade in El Paso in 1993
- People were impressed, good PR
Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego in 1994
- Based off of operation blockade in El Paso
Operation Rio Grande in 1997
- Based off of operation blockade in El Paso
, - Operations of intensive enforcement, lots of border patrol, people couldn't cross in safe places
anymore
Massive deportations through IIRIRA in 1996
- When people start getting deported in large numbers
Border wall/fence in 2000s
- First time there was a fence of the border: 1945 BP in the San Diego sector put up a chicken wire
fence
Checkpoints go from Texas to New Mexico and from Texas to Arizona (not just at the border)
Border Control Plan to control the border, July 1994
- Planners: Department of Defense Center for Low-Intensity Conflict, Border Patrol Chiefs, selected
headquarter staff
---- Voice that was the loudest was the voice of the border patrol chiefs
---- Rodriguez knows this because of friend that was appointed to INS (told Rodriguez how much INS
admired Border Patrol Chiefs - they were seen as knowing everything)
---- Everyone listened to Border Patrol chiefs because they knew the border
- Reform immigration system, gain control of border
- Improve pride and professionalism, improve public image and employee morale
- Restrict illegal migration and encourage legal entry
---- The wait time for a green card for someone in Mexico is many years - there are barriers to legal
migration
- (*quote from BP on slide*): "In protecting our borders against unlawful activities, we improve
national security and protect the immigration heritage that helped to form the nation's institutions.
The Border Patrol's success in achieving control of the border will restore confidence in the integrity
of the border and the organizations entrusted with its management."
---- it's great for the country and make the BP better
---- value system and ideology about who we are and what we do (connected to making the country
great)
---- Who are they referring to when they say "protect the immigration heritage"? - most likely
European heritage
------ There is a heritage and there are immigrants that are more acceptable than others
------ This immigration heritage does not include people from Asia (they were explicitly excluded)
---- How are they perceiving American history and the role of migration? Who are the "good" and
"bad" immigrants?
Border Environment
- Different conditions at the border
- Very hot to very cold
- Migrants can find themselves in fatal danger (There are death zones in the border - brooks county is
one of them)
- Migrants crossing unpopulated distant places can find themselves in fatal danger
---- This strategy doesn't connect that they are putting people's lives in danger (one quarter of them
being women and children)
- Border cities have become popular places for illegal crossing
- Border cities have connections to the interior of the country
"Prevention through Deterrence"
Policy that is still enforced today. The title of BP strategy is "Hold the Line in the 21st Century".
Local policy implemented in 1993. By 1994 the BP and other departments of government designed a
BP strategy using the El Paso model.
Strategy that DeLeon critiques in his book. Human rights activists say it's a violation of human rights to
redirect people to the desert, BP says it's just fine
Nestor immigration research center
- 1995 - Nestor Rodriguez wanting to start Center for Immigration Research at University of Houston.
- He had a friend who worked for the American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers) and she
asked how many people die at the border every year. He called researchers in California and nobody
knew.
- No one had studied how many people die at the border every year. He got funding from the Quakers
to study this. Two graduate students worked with him to collect this data.
- The only people who had a count of anything was firefighters, but nobody was keeping data on
migrant death.
- Graduate students went to counties through to El Paso to find someone with a count.
Border Patrol Strategic Plan 1994 and Beyond
Unauthorized Mexican migration surges (*graph on slide*)
Prevention through deterrence (different from previous strategy because before BP was focused on
apprehension). Focus is now on discouraging migrants from crossing and redirecting migrants to
terrain that is away from large cities
This change in policy happened because of the change in migration patterns
- The estimated numbers of undocumented Mexican migrants increased (starts around 1970)
---- When the braceros couldn't come legally anymore because program ended, they kept coming to
work because employers were still happy to hire them (wasn't until 1986 that it was made illegal to
hire someone who is undocumented)
- And since there has been a border, there has always been a segment of society that opposes
migration and wants more BP
Unauthorized Mexican migration surges graph, 1970-2004
- number of immigrant admitted stays low until 1988, when there's a spike until 1993 (lowest number
of the three)
- number of deportable immigrants has steadily increased (second highest number on graph)
- estimated unauthorized entries has increased (big spike 1985-1988; big spike 1995-2001 - dramatic
dropoff after 2001)
Bracero Program
- Agribusiness asked Washington to make a treaty with Mexico to bring in farmworkers (because US
workers were going to war and they needed a labor force)
- Designed a treaty to bring Mexican workers and some went to do railroad construction work
- Importations of Braceros, 1942-1964 (*graph on slide*)
- Idea was to make it a wartime program, that would end after WWII
- After WWII, Bracero program only increased
,- Workers were brought in trains for the harvest, and after the harvest was done they would be sent
back to Mexico until the next year. People weren't allowed to bring their families; it was just the
workers themselves
- Meant US could benefit from Mexican labor, while Mexico bore the cost of the production of labor
(meaning US didn't have to pay for more schools, etc.)
- Mixed reactions about program from former braceros: some people loved it and other people hated
it
--- A lot of braceros were promised that some of their wage would be sent to Mexico (so that they
would have a retirement fund when they were no longer working). When people went to access those
funds, the banks in Mexico hadn't received anything (but US companies say they sent the money)
- The program was kept alive because it was supported by the Department of Agriculture (which was
close to agribusiness), and it was increased because of them
- Department of Labor (and unions) was very opposed to this program
- After 1964 - even though program ended, people kept coming to work
- Bracero program had a quota (so not everybody who went to the recruitment center to find work
was able to get a job) - so many Mexican workers who were not recruited as braceros came anyway
--- At the early part of the bracero program Mexico didn't agree to send braceros to Texas because
Texas was a very anti-Mexican state
--- So at first Texas didn't have a lot of braceros, but they had a lot of undocumented migration
Because so many people were leaving Mexico to work, Mexico pressured US to increase its border
enforcement so that they wouldn't lose as many workers
Importations of Braceros Graph
- numbers stayed low through 1948
- small spikes in numbers after 1948
- huge spike in 1953 - kept increasing until around 1960/61 when it starts to dropoff
Operation Wetback
By 1954, BP has deported over 1 million undocumented Mexican people back to Mexico
US Responses to Surge of Unauthorized Migration
Amnesty and employer sanctions through IRCA in 1986
- Any employer who hires undocumented workers will be punished with fines or even prison time
- Offered amnesty to the undocumented population in the US
---- About 3 million (mostly Mexicans) got amnesty
- Did not increase border patrol resources (so people were still able to enter the US)
- Employers did not stop hiring undocumented people
- Big corporations: still want to use cheap labor, so instead of hiring workers they would subcontract
with people who hired labor for them
---- Some corporations met the letter of the law but didn't follow the law (they wouldn't actually
thoroughly check people's IDs)
Operation Blockade in El Paso in 1993
- People were impressed, good PR
Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego in 1994
- Based off of operation blockade in El Paso
Operation Rio Grande in 1997
- Based off of operation blockade in El Paso
, - Operations of intensive enforcement, lots of border patrol, people couldn't cross in safe places
anymore
Massive deportations through IIRIRA in 1996
- When people start getting deported in large numbers
Border wall/fence in 2000s
- First time there was a fence of the border: 1945 BP in the San Diego sector put up a chicken wire
fence
Checkpoints go from Texas to New Mexico and from Texas to Arizona (not just at the border)
Border Control Plan to control the border, July 1994
- Planners: Department of Defense Center for Low-Intensity Conflict, Border Patrol Chiefs, selected
headquarter staff
---- Voice that was the loudest was the voice of the border patrol chiefs
---- Rodriguez knows this because of friend that was appointed to INS (told Rodriguez how much INS
admired Border Patrol Chiefs - they were seen as knowing everything)
---- Everyone listened to Border Patrol chiefs because they knew the border
- Reform immigration system, gain control of border
- Improve pride and professionalism, improve public image and employee morale
- Restrict illegal migration and encourage legal entry
---- The wait time for a green card for someone in Mexico is many years - there are barriers to legal
migration
- (*quote from BP on slide*): "In protecting our borders against unlawful activities, we improve
national security and protect the immigration heritage that helped to form the nation's institutions.
The Border Patrol's success in achieving control of the border will restore confidence in the integrity
of the border and the organizations entrusted with its management."
---- it's great for the country and make the BP better
---- value system and ideology about who we are and what we do (connected to making the country
great)
---- Who are they referring to when they say "protect the immigration heritage"? - most likely
European heritage
------ There is a heritage and there are immigrants that are more acceptable than others
------ This immigration heritage does not include people from Asia (they were explicitly excluded)
---- How are they perceiving American history and the role of migration? Who are the "good" and
"bad" immigrants?
Border Environment
- Different conditions at the border
- Very hot to very cold
- Migrants can find themselves in fatal danger (There are death zones in the border - brooks county is
one of them)
- Migrants crossing unpopulated distant places can find themselves in fatal danger
---- This strategy doesn't connect that they are putting people's lives in danger (one quarter of them
being women and children)
- Border cities have become popular places for illegal crossing
- Border cities have connections to the interior of the country
