With the increasing number of undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, the U.S. border patrol sought new strategies to prevent more illegal crossings. In the early 1990s, Prevention Through Deterrence was a new strategy created by the border patrol in hopes to deter immigrants from crossing the border (Henderson 130). This new strategy started with Operation Blockade and with Operation Gatekeeper following right after. In Timothy Henderson’s Beyond Borders, and Jason De Leon’s The Land of Open Graves, they both discuss the positive effects of the border patrol’s Prevention Through Deterrence strategy, but also address how the strategy didn’t prevent immigrants from crossing the border, but rather shifted the traffic of immigrants into rural areas, putting their lives in danger. Prevention Through Deterrence—PTD—was a strategy implemented by the border patrol to prevent immigrants from illegally crossing the border into the U.S. Henderson states that from the 1980s, the U.S. was known to have “lost control of its borders” (130). The border patrol began working on strategies to regain their control of the …show more content…
security gave rise to even more professional smugglers. Illegal crossings became even more dangerous and expensive trip to make. The price for hiring a coyote—human smuggler—rose from “$189 on average in 1990, to $482 in 1998, to $1,500 by 2009, with some special services going for $3,000 and $5,000” (Henderson 131). This shows that the demand for illegally crossing was very high and that professional coyotes were hired. The increase in border security also prevented immigrants from returning back to their country of origin as well (Henderson 131-132). For these reasons, this explains why there is such a high number of immigrants in the U.S. Henderson explains the basic understanding of PTD and how they affected the U.S. and the immigrants, but De Leon’s explanation of PTD is explained from a different
Politics create a perception that illegal immigrants are all horrid human beings and deserve to be deported back to Mexico. There are a number of Mexicans who look to cross the border to the United States because they are in trouble and they must do whatever they can in order to survive. Regardless of this, citizens of the United States immediately ask for the heads of illegal immigrants and jump to conclusions that these people are crude and selfish although they are just trying to support their families. Luis Alberto Urrea tackles this problem regarding Mexicans attempting to cross the border in his book, The Devil 's Highway: A True Story. Urrea retells the story of the Yuma 14, also known as the Welton 26, and their attempt to cross the
Each day more and more immigrants legally or illegally cross the US border in search of
The article by Rob Guerette is a case study involving the widely-reported increase of immigration into the United States. It tackles migration issues as well as related issues such as border security , security initiatives by individuals.. The article also provides in-depth research about the impact of illegal immigration into the United States including migrant deaths, deaths of non-migrants at the border, border security and the challenges faced by United States border patrol officers. The main purpose of the article was to provide an explanation as to whether the Border Patrol has any effect in saving the lives of people attempting to enter into the United States (Guerette, 2007).
A leading American historian on race, policing, immigration, and incarceration in the United States, Kelly Lytle Hernandez’s Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol tells the story of how Mexican immigrant workers emerged as the primary target of the United States Border Patrol and how, in the process, the United States Border Patrol shaped the history of race in the United States. Migra! also explores social history, including the dynamics of Anglo-American nativism, the power of national security, and labor-control interests of capitalistic development in the American southwest. In short, Migra! explains
Daniel, Roger is a highly respected author and professor who has majored in the study of immigration in history and more specifically the progressive ear. He’s written remarkable works over the history of immigration in America, in his book Not like Us he opens a lenses about the hostile and violent conditions immigrants faced in the 1890’s through the 1924’s. Emphasizing that during the progressive area many immigrants felt as they were living in a regressing period of their life. While diversity of ethnicity and race gradually grew during this time it also sparked as a trigger for whites creating the flare up of nativism. Daniel’s underlines the different types of racial and ethnical discrimination that was given to individual immigrant
It was typical for the men to travel to the north first in order to find a job and set up the life for his family. In the town of San Geronimo, 85% of all men over the age of 15 had left the village in search of work in other parts of Mexico and in the United States. The men would make the trip alone and would send the money that they had made to their wives and children back in the village. The trip to the North was long and very dangerous. For the men who entered the country illegally, the trip could even be deadly. For the men who did have some money, they would hire a “coyote,” a man who would help them cross the border for a price. Sometimes coyotes were legitimate people who sought to help others, while...
Medina, Isabel M. “At the Border: What Tres Mujeres Tells Us About Walls and Fences.” Journal of Gender, Race and Justice 10 (2007): 245-68.
Ngai, Mae M., and Jon Gjerde. "Minutemen Call for Border Security First, Only, and Now, 2006." Major Problems in American Immigration History: Documents and Essays. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 585-586. Print.
Since the end of the nineteenth century, coyotes have been a big part of the illegal migratory process for numeral Mexican immigrants. The U.S. Immigration Acts of 1917 and 1924 required the alien Mexicans crossing the border to take reading and writing tests and pay head taxes and visa fees. As a direct result, demand for coyotes grew
Jeffrey, Terence P. “Border Patrol Will Up Goal For Miles Of Border Secured.” Human Events
Conover, Ted. 2000 “Coyotes: A Journey through the Secret World of America's Illegal Aliens” Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group.
Vaughan, Jessica M. “Aliens Who Overstay Their Visas Are a Serious Security Threat.” Opposing Viewpoints: Immigration. Eds. David M. Haugen, Susan Musser and Kacy Lovelace. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2009. 182-193. Print.
Yet the society in Sleep Dealer isn’t as far off from reality as some science fiction tends to be; being set in a near future filled with the capitalistic tendencies and social structures that we share in the present. Today, much of Mexico is in poverty due to a poor economy and plentiful cases of corruption. This is what causes so much legal and illegal immigration; they need to support their families, and America is full of low-skill jobs. Sleep Dealer explores what would happen to this situation if the border became impassable. The implications of the United States’ closing of the border would be extensive, but most importantly, no longer can you legally or illegally immigrate there. Closed borders manifest unfriendly rel...
...ion and drug smuggling has been on the rise the past few decades and our current approach is not confronting the escalating issue at hand. America’s safekeeping at our borders is not robust enough to deter these illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. Our border wall and security checkpoints must be strengthened immediately.
One of the major issues surrounding border security is illegal immigration, “For the past two decades the United States, a country with a strong tradition of limited government, has been pursuing a widely popular initiative that requires one of the most ambitious expansions of government power in modern history: securing the nation’s borders against illegal immigration” (Alden, 2012). Many people are trying to enter the United States without the proper documentation and everyday they risk their lives and others just to make it across these borders. To avoid this law enforcement and other border security has threatened these illegal immigrants with detainment and arrest and different forms of punishment. In the efforts to deter the problem, it has been far beyond feasible because they still manage to get across and it does not change their intention...