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Operation Gatekeeper
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<h2 id="phases">Phases</h2> <p>The first phase of Gatekeeper focused on the 5 5/8 westernmost miles of the border, extending from the Pacific Ocean to the <a href="/facts/San_Ysidro_Port_of_Entry/a9nvJlHo">San Ysidro Port of Entry</a> near San Diego.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> U.S. migration routes immediately shifted eastward, and the use of professional <a href="/facts/Human_smuggling/FqTF2JB2">human smugglers</a> known as <i><a href="/facts/Coyotaje/N893FCr0">coyotes</a></i> or <i>polleros</i> increased. In May 1995, the Border Patrol initiated Operation Disruption to target human smugglers, and also established new checkpoints on interior highways. </p><p>Phase two, although not formally part of Gatekeeper, was launched in October 1995. It consisted of the appointment of <a href="/facts/Alan_Bersin/et6TUfCJ">Alan Bersin</a> as the Attorney General's Special Representative on Southwest Border Issues and the establishment of the first immigration court at the actual boundary, inside the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The court expedited hearings and subsequent deportations of undocumented immigrants apprehended attempting to enter the U.S. with false documents or through false representation. </p><p>Phase two also introduced IDENT, an automated <a href="/facts/Biometric_identification/MgTbyA0r">biometric identification</a> system, to facilitate identification of repeat offenders and "criminal aliens", i.e., illegal immigrants with criminal records or active warrants for their arrest. The Border Patrol also intensified relations with local law enforcement agencies to counter the flow of migrants through the <a href="/facts/Otay_Mountain/907ISqrM">Otay Mountains</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="allegations-of-nafta-enforcement">Allegations of NAFTA enforcement</h2> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement/IdgE7ClR">North American Free Trade Agreement</a> and <a href="/facts/Illegal_immigration_into_the_United_States/BtcLkouj">Illegal immigration into the United States</a></p> <p>Academic <a href="/facts/Noam_Chomsky/3rtpzlER">Noam Chomsky</a> has said that Operation Gatekeeper was a "militarization of the U.S.-Mexican border" and alleges it was because <a href="/facts/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement/IdgE7ClR">North American Free Trade Agreement</a> would have increased illegal immigration into the United States; therefore, Gatekeeper was a precaution to stop future illegal immigration.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Greaser_Act/xgFuDoEX">Greaser Act</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Operation_Wetback/DIQvGhSo">Operation Wetback</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Esequiel_Hern%C3%A1ndez_Jr./dPWfjkIy">Esequiel Hernández Jr.</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>See Joseph Nevins, Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the "Illegal Alien" and the Making of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary (Routledge, 2002) <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Nevins" target="_blank">/wiki/Joseph_Nevins</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Operation Gatekeeper and the San Diego Sector". Office of the Inspector General. Retrieved 29 March 2023. <a href="https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9807/gkp01.htm#P203_31548." target="_blank">https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9807/gkp01.htm#P203_31548.</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Operation Gatekeeper: An Investigation Into Allegations of Fraud and Misconduct <a href="https://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9807/gkp01.htm" target="_blank">https://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9807/gkp01.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>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. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-30/gatekeeper-anniversary-25-san-diego-border" target="_blank">https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-30/gatekeeper-anniversary-25-san-diego-border</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>MARTIN, JERRY “BRIAN” (2019-10-01). "Commentary: How 1994's Operation Gatekeeper made Border Patrol better and ended the 'chaos'". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2019-10-01. <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2019-09-30/operation-gatekeeper-ended-chaos-at-border-utak" target="_blank">https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2019-09-30/operation-gatekeeper-ended-chaos-at-border-utak</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"USDOJ/OIG Special Report". July 1998. <a href="https://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9807/exec.htm" target="_blank">https://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/9807/exec.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>The Unipolar Moment and the Obama Era, Noam Chomsky. <a href="http://www.chomsky.info/talks/20090921%281%29.htm" target="_blank">http://www.chomsky.info/talks/20090921%281%29.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>