Abstract
This chapter details the amplification of the United States' effort to police the cross-border flow of unauthorized Mexican migrants in the 1990s. It elaborates on how the escalation of border enforcement influenced where, how, and how often unauthorized immigrants crossed the border. The Immigration Reform and Control Act's (IRCA) main impact of legalization involves the reinforcement and expansion of a well-established cross-border migration network. However, the consequence of IRCA was the powerful backlash against unauthorized immigration in the 1990s, especially in California. The chapter notes the transformation of the southwestern border's landscape due to high-profile immigration control initiatives such as operations Hold-the-Line and Gatekeeper. The intensive border policing triggering more professional smuggling, greater corruption, and border fatalities resulted in the powerful political and symbolic appeal of a border that appeared more orderly and secure.
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