Operation Gatekeeper
Operation Gatekeeper was a measure implemented during the Presidency of Bill Clinton by the United States Border Patrol (then a part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)), aimed at halting illegal immigration to the United States at the United States–Mexico border near San Diego, California. According to the INS, the goal of Gatekeeper was "to restore integrity and safety to the nation's busiest border."

Operation Gatekeeper was announced in Los Angeles on September 17, 1994, by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and was launched two weeks later on October 1.

The United States Congress allocated additional funds to the Border Patrol and other agencies. By 1997, the budget of the Immigration and Naturalization Service had doubled to 800 million dollars, the number of Border Patrol agents had nearly doubled, the amount of fencing or other barriers more than doubled, and the number of underground sensors nearly tripled.

The merits of Operation Gatekeeper were debated extensively, including during Congressional hearings. The Department of Justice, the INS, and the Border Patrol maintained that Operation Gatekeeper was a success. Some Congressmen and others sharply criticized the program and declared it a failure.
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Presidency of Bill Clinton
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Q187954
United States Border Patrol
Concept
Q194984
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Concept
Q185367
illegal immigration to the United States
Concept
Q1057263
United States–Mexico border
Concept
Q16552
San Diego
LOC
Q99
California
LOC
Q65
Los Angeles
LOC
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U.S. Attorney General
Concept
Q236421
Janet Reno
PER
Q11268
United States Congress
Concept
Q4917
dollars
Concept
Q1553390
Department of Justice
Concept
Q1433695
Operation Gatekeeper
UNK
Q1433695
Operation Gatekeeper
UNK
Q1433695
Operation Gatekeeper
UNK
Q1433695
Operation Gatekeeper
UNK
1994-09-17T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
September 17, 1994
DATE
1997-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1997
DATE
+1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1
NUMBER
subsidiary