Jeb Maynard (Charles Bronson) is the head honcho of the La Mesa office of the US Border Patrol. Illegal crossings have gone way up recently so Jeb sent to Washington for more help - maybe a dozen men; instead, only Jimmy Fante (Bruno Kirby) has been sent. That night, Jeb takes Jimmy - affectionately nicknamed "the kid" - with him on a border sweep. Meanwhile, veteran Scooter Jackson (Wilford Brimley) will patrol the highway for suspicious vehicles. The uptick in crossings can be linked to a new coyote, El Marino (Ed Harris), a Vietnam veteran who has useful skills for smuggling people into the United States. He is also willing to up the stakes, since he carries firearms.
The story follows Jeb's efforts to find the murderer of one of his border agents and break up a major smuggling ring. Though the murder officially falls under FBI jurisdiction, they think it is drug-related. Yeah, even in 1980, the FBI was incompetent. Jeb has to use boot prints, tomatoes, tire tracks, and an illegal alien to track the murderers.
This was Ed Harris' first big movie role. He brings his standard intensity to the role, making El Marino an intimidating adversary.
Despite being a 44-year-old movie, it demonstrates how the southern border is a longstanding problem that remains unresolved. In the movie, it is suggested that illegals are actively imported by big business as cheap labor. Amazingly, the big businessman behind the scheme (Michael Lerner) is found not guilty in court; he gets away with it though his underlings go to jail. Of note, there was a lot of cooperation with and input from the US Border Patrol during the making of the film.
Just okay.
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