Gatekeeper’s walls went up in San Diego in 1994 and spread across the southern border, leaving a trail of death and destruction while laying the foundation for the cruel and inhumane border policies of today
SOUTHERN BORDER — The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) will mark the 25th anniversary of Operation Gatekeeper this Tuesday, October 1st with a series of border-wide actions from San Diego, CA to Brownsville, TX. Southern border communities are condemning the deadly 1994 federal policy and are calling for policies that expand public safety, protect human rights, and welcome residents and newcomers.
While many of the worst border policies we see today gained notoriety under the Trump administration — walls, abusive agents, checkpoints, detention and family separation — all of them found their inspiration in Operation Gatekeeper.
SAN DIEGO PRESS CONFERENCE
Tuesday, October 1 at Chicano Park, San Diego, CA at 11 a.m. in front of the Operation Gatekeeper mural
Speakers:
- Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee U.S/Mexico Program, and an SBCC steering committee member
- Ely Ortiz, Aguilas Del Desierto. Leads efforts to find the missing and disappeared due to Operation Gatekeeper's walls, to which he has also lost loved ones
- Jenn Budd, former Border Patrol agent turned immigrant rights activist hired under Operation Gatekeeper
- Lilian Serrano, Chair of the San Diego Immigrants Rights Consortium
- Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego and SBCC steering committee member
- Jonathan Flores, Union del Barrio, a community grassroots organization
- Rev. Lee Hill, Interfaith Justice Coalition
Events happening in the southern border on October 1st
- Douglas, AZ, at the corner of Pan American and 5th, starting at 5:15 pm: Conversation with Joe Nevins, author of Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond, and vigil
- Las Cruces, NM: Multimedia event featuring video testimony from those impacted by Gatekeeper
- San Juan, TX: Roundtable discussion with community members on impact of Gatekeeper
These coordinated events will also kick off a month of resistance actions against harmful border policies. For a complete list of events, please click here.
To attend, or for more information, contact Yesenia Padilla at [email protected] or Hiram Soto at [email protected].
ABOUT THE SOUTHERN BORDER COMMUNITIES COALITION
The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) brings together organizations from San Diego, California to Brownsville, Texas, to ensure that border enforcement policies and practices are accountable and fair, respect human dignity and human rights, and prevent the loss of life in the region.
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