The one-year anniversary of the crackdown, Operation Gatekeeper, falls on Sunday.

One of her two sidekicks, a sweet, serious Mexican-American boy named Hector, helpfully explains about Operation Gatekeeper.

Serafina, heading north, runs into another consequence of Operation Gatekeeper: the dependence on sometimes rapacious smugglers who act as guides through the rough terrain.

The merits of Operation Gatekeeper were debated extensively, including during Congressional hearings.

This operation was the predecessor to a similar operation dubbed "Operation Gatekeeper" in Southern California.

"That's as good a measure as any of Operation Gatekeeper's impact and success," Mr. Pink said.

Operation Gatekeeper was begun after officials in a number of border states began to pressure the Federal Government to do more about illegal immigration.

Operation Gatekeeper has resulted not just from political pressure.

Like California officials, Mexican officials have not exactly raced to embrace Operation Gatekeeper.

The founders of No More Deaths cite Operation Gatekeeper as a major cause of the spike in deaths.