"Corranle, alli viene la migra!", translated into English, this means "Run, there comes immigration!" This is what illegal immigrants shout everyday when they are about to cross the Rio Grande in search for better lives. Unfortunately, not many get through alive because of the militarization that has developed on the U.S. border with Mexico. Operation Rio Grande continues a process put in motion over a century ago by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. It tries to erase the reality of a social geographical order that defies neat national divisions and impose a narrow notion of citizenship on people on both sides of the international boundary. In the process, the U.S., like all countries to varying degrees, elevates national citizenship to a position of primacy and lessens the inherent humanity of those on the wrong side of the social and territorial boundaries.

Operation Rio Grande, launched in August 1997, in Brownsville, Texas, was a special multi-year operation designed to gain and maintain control of specific border areas through a combination of new technology and additional staffing. At the start of the operation,

Over the last several years, the U.S. has seen increasing calls and efforts to fight unauthorized immigration and boundary related crime, specifically drug trafficking. There has been an unprecedented growth in federal resources dedicated to boundary policing. Unauthorized immigration and an out of control border region fueled the political sentiment for immigration enforcement, which climaxed with the passage of the Immigration and Control Act of 1986. (UTA, 1992) Former President Ronald Reagan starkly framed unauthorized immigration as a national security issue, warning, "The simple truth is that we've lost control of our borders and no nation can do that and survive." (Cornelius, 1994)

69 Border Patrol agents were detailed to Brownsville to intensify existing enforcement effort. In September of that same year, the Border Patrol deployed special response teams to those ports-of-entry where increased numbers of fraudulent entry was expected. In the Fiscal Year of 1998, 260 new Border Patrol agents were added to the McAllen Sector and 205 to the Laredo Sector. An important feature of Operation Rio Grande has been the integration of a broad range of INS enforcement operations. Studies show that the crime rate in Brownsville alone dropped by more than 20% in 1998. (U.S. INS)

The decades following the imposition of the new U.S. - Mexico boundary saw widespread violence as U.S. authorities and non-State actors established their dominance. The Mexican Revolution and the accompanying socio-political turmoil between 1910, and 1920, caused great concern for U.S. authorities. Tension along the boundary with Mexico quickly subsided thereafter. (Griswold, 1990) Pacification did not mean control by the U.S. Migration between the U.S. and Mexico long preceded the imposition of the modern day boundary. Mexican migration to the U.S. was not really significant in scale or in geographical extent until the 20th Century. In 1942, the Bracero (Bra-zeh-roh) Program was implemented. It was a contract labor program in response to labor shortages brought about by the U.S. entry into World War II. (The Bracero Program, 1996)

Divine R. et al, (1999). America Past and Present. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Border Patrol, Rio Grande, Bracero Program, Treaty Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Furthermore INS, Ronald Reagan, Texas Sarita, Brace Company, United CNN, North America, border patrol, rio grande, illegal immigrants, mexico boundary, mexico border, unauthorized immigration, operation rio grande, operation rio, bracero program, patrol agents, border patrol agents, united border patrol, bracero program 1996, acuna 1988, bodies people drowned,
Approximate Word count = 1906
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)