Operation Wetback was an immigration law enforcement initiative created by
Director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Joseph Swing in
cooperation with the Mexican government. The program was implemented in May 1954
by the U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell, and utilized special tactics
to deal with unsanctioned border crossing and residence in the United
States by Mexican nationals. It became an issue in Mexico-United States
relations. Ultimately, the program came as a result of pressure from the Mexican
government to stop illegal entry of Mexican laborers in the United
States-based largely on the Bracero Program. After implementation, Operation
Wetback was met with allegations of abuse and suspension of certain civil
rights of Mexicans who were arrested and deported by U.S. Border Patrol.
Background and causes = Migration and labor demands before
World War II = Mexico began discouraging emigration to
the U.S. in early 1900s, beginning with President Porfirio Díaz. Diaz, like many
others within the Mexican government, realized the laborers leaving for the
United States would be needed to industrialize Mexico and expand the
economy. While Mexico did not have extensive capital, its biggest asset was
abundant, cheap labor, the primary source needed to modernize the country
and utilize industrialized agribusiness. The large and continuously growing
agricultural industry in the United States created a demand for Mexican
labor. From the 1920s onward, with the exception of the depression era,
Mexicans served as the primary labor source for much of the agricultural
industry in the United States, especially in the Southwest. 62,000
workers entered the United States legally, while over 100,000 entered
illegally per year during the 1920s. Pressure from Mexican agribusiness
owners to return laborers from the United States to Mexico prompted
increased action by the Mexican government. The labor problems grew so
bad that crops would rot in Mexican fields because so many laborers had
crossed the border into the U.S. Meanwhile, American farms were also
transitioning to large scale farms and agribusinesses and continued to recruit
illegal Mexican laborers to fulfill the increasing labor demands.
= The bracero program = The bracero program was a wartime
agreement between Mexican and American governments that allowed Mexican
laborers to work in the United States under short term contracts in exchange
for stricter border security and the return of illegal Mexican immigrants to
Mexico. Mexico would provide laborers to the U.S. instead of providing allied
military support with the understanding that border security and illegal labor
restrictions would be tightened by the United States. The U.S. agreed based
upon a strong need for cheap labor to support its agricultural businesses,
while Mexico hoped to utilize the laborers returned from the United States
to boost its efforts to industrialize and grow the economy and eliminate labor
shortages. The program began on September 27, 1942 when the first
braceros were admitted into the United States under its labor agreement with
Mexico. As part of the program, braceros were supposed to be guaranteed wages,
housing, food, and exemption from military service, however these terms
were often disregarded by American farm owners. After this agreement was
reached, the Mexican government continued to pressure the U.S. to
strengthen its border security or face the suspension of the legal stream of
Mexican laborers going into the U.S. Two million Mexican nationals legally
participated in the program during its existence, yet the program and its
ultimate ineffectiveness in limiting illegal immigration into the United
States was one of the primary factors influencing the implementation of
Operation Wetback. = Illegal migration after 1942 =
Despite the bracero program, American growers continued to recruit and hire
illegal laborers to meet their labor needs. The bracero program could not
accommodate the number of Mexicans that wished to work in the United States,
which resulted in those who were denied entry as a bracero illegally crossing
into the US in search of better wages and opportunity. While the Mexican
Constitution allowed citizens to cross borders freely with valid labor
contracts, foreign labor contracts could not be made in the United States until
an individual had already legally entered the country. This technical
conflict, combined with literacy exams and fees from INS formed significant
obstacles for Mexican laborers wishing to seek higher wages and increased
opportunities in the United States. Food shortages were common in Mexico while
most of the foodstuffs produced were exported; hunger, along with a growing
population, prompted many Mexicans to attempt to enter the U.S., legally or
illegally, in search of wages and a better life. The privatization and
mechanization of Mexican agriculture only added more problems to employment
and labor issues in Mexico, providing yet another reason for Mexicans to enter
America in search of higher wage jobs. With the growing diplomatic and security
issues surrounding illegal border crossings, the INS increased its raids
and apprehensions beginning in the early 1950s leading up to Operation Wetback.
The Korean War and Red Scare also prompted tighter border security to
prevent communist infiltration. Border control leading up to Operation
Wetback Before 1943, more U.S. Border control
officers were posted along the country's Northern Border. Pressure from angry
Mexican land and farm owners frustrated with the Bracero program prompted the
Mexican government to call a meeting in Mexico City with the United States
Departments of Justice and State, the INS, and the U.S. Border Patrol. This
meeting resulted in increased border patrol along the U.S.—Mexico border by
the United States, yet illegal immigration still persisted. One of the
main issues was that increased pressure by the Mexican government did yield more
deportations, but the Mexicans being deported would rapidly reenter the
United States. To combat this issue, the Mexican and American governments
developed a strategy in 1945 to deport Mexicans deeper into Mexican territory
by a system of planes, boats and trains. However, in 1954, negotiations
surrounding the Bracero program broke down, prompting the Mexican government
to send 5000 troops to its border with the United States. As a result,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Gen. Joseph Swing as INS Commissioner
and charged him with fixing border control issues in order to stabilize
labor negotiations with Mexico. Operation Wetback: Implementation and
tactics Operation Wetback was a system of
tactical control and cooperation within the U.S. Border Patrol and alongside the
Mexican government. Planning between the INS led by Gen. Joseph Swing and the
Mexican government began in early 1954 while the program was formally announced
in May 1954. On May 17th, 1954, command teams of 12 Border Patrol agents, buses,
planes, and temporary processing stations began locating, processing, and
deporting Mexicans who had illegally entered the United States. 750
immigration and border patrol officers and investigators, 300 jeeps, cars and
buses, and 7 airplanes were allocated for the operation. Teams were focused on
quick processing and deportation, as planes were able to coordinate ground
efforts more quickly and increase mobility. Those deported were handed off
to Mexican officials, who in turn deported them into central Mexico where
there were many labor opportunities. While the operation would include the
cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, its main targets were
border areas in Texas and California. Overall, there were 1,078,168
apprehensions made in the first year of Operation Wetback, with 170,000 being
captured from May to July 1954. The total number of apprehensions would fall
to just 242,608 in 1955, and would continuously decline by year until 1962,
when there was a slight rise in apprehended workers. During the entirety
of the Operation, border recruitment of illegal workers by American growers
continued due largely to the inexpensiveness of illegal labor and the
desire of growers to avoid the bureaucratic obstacles of the Bracero
program; the continuation of illegal immigration despite the efforts of
Operation Wetback was largely responsible for the failure of the
program. Despite the decline in apprehensions, the total number of
Border Patrol agents more than doubled to 1,692 by 1962, and an additional
plane was also added to the force. In terms of apprehensions, Operation
Wetback was immediately successful. However, this success would be short
lived, as the program would fail to limit the number of workers entering the
United States from Mexico illegally. The program would also result in a more
permanent, strategic border control presence along the Mexico-United States
border. Mistreatment and abuse
Operation Wetback uses the name "Wetback",, becoming a derogatory term
applied to Mexicans laborers, both legal and illegal. The term wetback was used
by Cesar Chavez during his efforts organizing unionized farmworkers. One of
the biggest issues with the program was the deportation of Mexicans to
unfamiliar places, where they would struggle to find their way home or
support their families. Over 25% of apprehended Mexicans were returned to
Veracruz on ships, while others were transported by land to southern cities
in Mexico. Those apprehended were often deported without opportunity to recover
their property in the US or contact family and were stranded without food or
employment when they entered Mexico. Deported Mexicans faced extreme
conditions and were sometimes left in the desert; 88 deported workers died in
112 degree heat in July 1955. Another issue was repeat border crossings by
those who had been previously deported; from 1960 through 1961, repeaters
accounted for 20% of the total deportees. Certain U.S. Border Patrol
agents practiced shaving heads to mark repeat offenders who would attempt to
reenter the United States. There were also reports of beating and jailing
illegal immigrants before deporting them. While most complaints concerning
deportation were undocumented, there were over 11,000 formal complaints from
documented bracero workers from 1954 through 1964.
References Further reading
Copp, Nelson Gage, 'Wetbacks' and Braceros: Mexican Migrant Laborers and
American Immigration Policy, 1930-1960.. García, Juan Ramon. Operation Wetback:
The Mass Deportation of Mexican Undocumented Workers in 1954..
Hernández, Kelly L. ″The Crimes and Consequences of Illegal Immigration: A
Cross Border Examination of Operation Wetback, 1943-1954.″ Western Historical
Quarterly 37: 421-444. Scruggs, Otley M. Braceros, 'Wetbacks',
and the Farm Labor Problem: Mexican Agricultural Labor in the United States,
1942-1954. New York 1988. "How Eisenhower solved illegal border
crossings from Mexico", by John Dillin Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback” Worked
Beautifully – But Ike Had ‘Political Will’, by Patrick Cleburne
Sources Astor, Avi. ″Unauthorized Immigration,
Securitization, and the Making of Operation Wetback.″ Latino Studies 7:
5-29. Hernandez, Kelly L. ″The Crimes and
Consequences of Illegal Immigration: A Cross Border Examination of Operation
Wetback, 1943-1954.″ Western Historical Quarterly 37: 421-444.
Mize, Ronald L. and Alicia C. Swords. Consuming Mexican Labor: From the
Bracero Program to NAFTA. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010.
Ngai, Mae M. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern
America. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.
See also Bracero Program
Illegal immigration to the United States Immigration to the United States
Operation Gatekeeper Repatriation Movement
United States v. Brignoni-Ponce Wetback
Mexican migration