Customer Reviews

Operation Gatekeeper: The Rise of the 'Illegal Alien' and the Remaking of the U.S.-Mexico Boundary

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Especially for those of us who live in the Southwest, this is a very important book that contains a reality which is underreported in national and mainstream media. The only reason I have given this book 4 stars rather than 5 is a result of the overall writing style. It is a very historically-based book that can come off as a bit dry at times, but the content and shock value alone more than makes up for it. Read this book and learn about the violence that takes place every day on the US-Mexico border in the name of democracy and freedom.

This book changed the way I think about the U.S.-Mexico border, undocumented immigrants, and border control. It provides a thorough and fascinating history of the development of the border, and practices and identities related to it. The perpespective of the author is certainly unique and provocative. He puts forth ideas and analysis that one rarely if ever hears or reads. I highly recommend it.

This book provides an excellent overview on the history of the US-Mexican border, and immigration laws that have been instituted over the years. The author is able to see through the propaganda the US government uses to perpetuate their "rationale" for the continued security buildup with regards to the border. Anyone with an interest in history and/or immigration should read this book, and become enlightened!

This book provides a great overview of the U.S.-Mexico border and a compelling analysis and explanation of how we arrived at the point we now find ourselves in terms of immigration and boundary enforcement. I had to read the book for an undergraduate class and found it to be a great way to conclude the course. The book totally challenged me in a way that few other books have.

Very well-documented. A useful and must-have source for anyone interested in Southwestern U.S. border enforcement issues.

This book so much helped me understand the ironical and paradoxical situation of operation gatekeeper in such globalized, and multi cultural country like the U.S. This book offers the readers various ways such as historical, political, social and cultural perspectives to look at and think about the truth of relationship between Mexican immigrants and U.S. government and the factual background in which the operation gatekeeper has been generated. And it also lets you understand how this policy influenced the whole world in terms of globalization or internationalization and also the geographical and economic aspects. I'd recommend this book because Nevin's work in this book was tremendously brilliant and remarkable.

All books have some value. That is the only value of this book.

By page 10, an objective reader will surmise the true intention of the author, to disinform those not familiar with border control issues firsthand. However, the author is arrogant in his methodology, repeatedly rephrasing terms such as illegal alien into more "humane" terminology, in an effort to convince the reader any policy to secure the border runs counter to human rights. The bottom line is that although first offenses at entering the United States illegally are often considered administrative violations(8 USC 1251), there are criminal penalties at 8 USC 1325 and 1326. A fact left out by the author. The decision to prosecute as a criminal matter depends upon many issues including budgets, bedspace, criminal history, and workload of US Attorneys.

As for Gatekeeper, this author has not done his due diligence research. For example, the authenticity of the operation itself and reported results was challenged by the Border Patrol Agents union. Another important fact left out. The resulting investigation, acknowledged as a whitewash by even supporters of the operation, sought to coverup field reports from agents of incompetent strategies and false reporting of results.

In the end, take this book for the only value it provides; one liberal view of border issues. The real irony is that the Bush administration practices what this author preaches. I guess you can call it the convergence of liberalism and capitalism.

While the author tried to maintain an air of fairness and objectiveness regarding the many controversial issues surrounding border enforcement, a subtle, liberal bias tainted his entire presentation. The conclusions were already made before the words were written; it is obvious that supportive facts were selectively picked.

This book has less original thoughts than you might think. The author looked at the "medium" picture and told us it was the "big" picture. Either he doesn't know the difference or is trying to promote his social agenda.

In our new era of concern over national security, this argument doesn't fly.

Don't waste your money on this one!