Operation Wetback
In the wake of post-World War II concerns about jobs for soldiers and uncontrolled migration across the southern border, the Immigration Bureau and Border Patrol used military-style tactics to roundup and remove large numbers of Mexican immigrants from the US.
Using the period’s derogatory term in its name, Operation Wetback grew out of frustrations with the uncontrolled influx of immigrants from Mexico and the growing tendency among some farm owners to hire unauthorized immigrants at a lower wage than the legal braceros.
The Bracero Program allowed Mexican farm workers to come work in the US temporarily to address labor shortages. However, the program was unable to accomodate the number of Mexicans that wished to work. Many who were denied entry as a bracero crossed the border illegally in search of better wages and opportunity, and were willing to work at a lower wage than that required under the bracero guest worker treaty.
The Immigration Bureau claimed to have deported one million Mexicans, some of whom were American citizens of hispanic origin. In a 2015 presidential debate, then-candidate Donald Trump made reference to this deportation program as a success, one that may have inspired his administration’s policies on the southern border.
