Unintended consequences?

If you’re one of those people who is looking for someone to blame for “illegal immigration” and smuggling that someone is the Border Patrol… and the politicians who wanted to make a show of being “tough” on border security.

Lorena Figueroa reports for the El Paso Times on the dubious results of the 20 year old “Operation Hold the Line” and its successor programs:

Before the operation, Mexican citizens routinely traveled several times a year between the United States and Mexico or their countries of origin. For those living in Juárez, immigrants used to cross up to three times a day to work or shop, Rubio said.

That all stopped in 1993.

Instead of crossing daily, Rubio said immigrants began staying in the U.S. for longer periods of time or permanently, which contributed to the growth in population of immigrants living unlawfully in the country.

By throwing resources (i.e. agents) at urban areas, where there was media coverage (and, incidentally, a labor market that needed temporary workers, as well as benefited from additional consumers), “Operation Hold The Line” simply pushed migration routes into less populated regions, where immigrants were less likely to find remunerative work, requiring “assistance”… and creating opportunities for human smuggling operations on both sides of the border. And, of course, it’s much easier to smuggle narcotics and guns through rural outposts than through the highly-guarded urban crossings.