Operation Wetback
Operation Wetback was a controversial U.S. government initiative launched on June 17, 1954, aimed at addressing the increasing numbers of undocumented immigrants, primarily from Mexico, during a period marked by labor shortages and heightened public concern about immigration. The operation was a response to growing fears that undocumented immigrants were taking jobs from American citizens, particularly veterans, and contributing to social issues such as crime and health concerns. Spearheaded by the Eisenhower administration, Operation Wetback involved coordinated efforts by federal, state, and local authorities to deport undocumented immigrants across the country, with a heavy focus on the Southwest.
Initially, the operation resulted in the apprehension and deportation of over one million individuals in 1954 alone, amidst claims of its efficiency. However, it also had devastating impacts on Mexican American families, leading to the separation of families and disruption of businesses within these communities. The campaign contributed to rising interethnic tensions and, in some cases, was criticized for its aggressive tactics that affected U.S. citizens of Mexican descent. Despite the immediate success in reducing undocumented immigration, the legacy of Operation Wetback remains contentious, influencing discussions on immigration policy and ethnic identity in the United States for decades to come.
Operation Wetback
The Event Campaign of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to expel undocumented immigrants from the United States
Date Program began on June 17, 1954
Place Southwestern United States
Operation Wetback utilized mass deportations to remove undocumented Mexican immigrants from the United States, ended migration into the country from Mexico, and secured the Mexican-US border against further undocumented immigration for more than a decade. ("Wetback" is an offensive term that refers to the act of swimming across the Rio Grande, one of the historical methods used by undocumented Mexican immigrants to enter the US.)
Labor shortages in the United States increased both documented and undocumented migration into the country during the 1950s. The bracero program of the 1940s brought documented nationals into the United States to work, while also increasing undocumented migration from Mexico. Although many Americans welcomed the labor of undocumented immigrants, especially in agriculture, the majority of Americans grew alarmed at the growing numbers of immigrants within the country’s borders.
Sensationalized media accounts about undocumented Mexican immigrants increased public pressure to end the influx of immigrants. Even after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, legislation designed to make it more difficult to enter the United States, undocumented immigration continued to increase into 1954. Between 1944 and 1954, the number of immigrants entering from Mexico without documents increased by 6,000 percent, and experts estimated that in 1954 alone, before the start of Operation Wetback, more than one million workers crossed the Rio Grande without authorization. However, veterans from World War II and the Korean War needed jobs, and immigrants were blamed for depressing wages and for taking jobs away from US citizens. They were also accused of making it more difficult to unionize workers. Health officials attributed increasing rates of communicable diseases to them. In this xenophobic atmosphere, immigrants increasingly were charged with increasing crime, welfare costs, and illegal drug traffic.
Fear of communist infiltration also fueled the drive to end Mexican immigration. Some claimed that communists were infiltrating the United States disguised as farmworkers. Critics of the INS claimed it was either complacent or incompetent to stem the rising tide of unauthorized immigration. Many felt that American economic, social, and political security required complete control of the US border.
The Campaign
In response to growing public demand, the Eisenhower administration launched Operation Wetback on June 17, 1954, under the leadership of General Joseph May Swing. Federal, state, and local authorities worked in concert to remove undocumented immigrants from the country in a series of ever-expanding dragnets. Although it concentrated its efforts in the Southwest, no area of the country was spared. Unauthorized workers in industries in Midwestern cities were also targeted. Nearly five thousand undocumented immigrants were apprehended on the first day, and officials claimed that more than one million people were deported to Mexico in 1954 alone, 90 percent of whom were Mexican nationals. Thousands of US citizens were also deported. Many thousands more undocumented immigrants returned to Mexico voluntarily. The numbers of unauthorized immigrants deported after 1954 dropped off sharply. In 1957, the INS declared the immigration problem to be solved. Very few undocumented immigrants remained in the wake of Operation Wetback’s brutal efficiency.
Impact
In the wake of Operation Wetback, the bracero program expanded to provide more temporary workers. It gave employers greater control over workers and brought them higher profits. The presence of undocumented immigrants in the workforce did not reach 1950s numbers again until the late 1970s.
Operation Wetback devastated Mexican American families by deporting the Mexican nationals among them. The campaign also disrupted Mexican American businesses. Interethnic tensions grew in border areas. Critics claim that the INS abused Mexican Americans as well as the undocumented immigrants among them in their zeal to find and remove unauthorized immigrants. Moreover, Mexican Americans became less interested in assimilation and prouder of their ethnic heritage as a result.
Operation Wetback remained a highly controversial aspect of US history. In 2015, during a televised debate, future president Donald Trump created controversy when he referenced Operation Wetback in his pledge to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants as part of his presidential campaign.
Bibliography
Calavita, Kitty. Inside the State: The Bracero Program, Immigration, and the INS. New York: Routledge, 1992. Explains how Operation Wetback improved the reputation of the INS and the profitability of American agriculture.
García, Juan Ramon. Operation Wetback: The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980. The classic and most complete study of Operation Wetback.
Peralta, Eyder. “It Came up in the Debate: Here Are 3 Things to Know about 'Operation Wetback.'" NPR, 11 Nov. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/11/455613993/it-came-up-in-the-debate-here-are-3-things-to-know-about-operation-wetback. Accessed 20 Dec. 2022.
Samora, Julian. Los Mojados: The Wetback Story. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1971. Describes how Operation Wetback was one of several campaigns in U.S. history designed to regain control of immigration.