WEBVTT - Operation Wetback

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<v Speaker 1>Right now it is time for the way Black History Fact.

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<v Speaker 1>And today's way Black History Fact comes from Immigrationhistory dot Org.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to share a disclaimer here. I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>be using a word that I think is a disgusting word.

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<v Speaker 1>It is a very unkind word. But I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>this needs, this story needs to be told in its

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<v Speaker 1>fullness so that people are aware of what has happened

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<v Speaker 1>in this country and what is happening in this country,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that people can investigate it further. And so

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<v Speaker 1>I will be using language that I would not normally use,

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<v Speaker 1>Nor am I condoning this language, but I need to

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<v Speaker 1>tell the history and its fullness. Not subject to general

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<v Speaker 1>immigration restrictions until nineteen sixty five, Mexicans crossed into the

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<v Speaker 1>United States at rates of about a million per year.

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<v Speaker 1>In the nineteen fifties, this migration was largely unregulated, and

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<v Speaker 1>Southwest agricultural interest depended on Mexican labor. However, national concerns

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<v Speaker 1>reguarding employment for returning soldiers and uncontrolled migration across the

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<v Speaker 1>southern border inspired the Immigration Bureau to crack down on

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<v Speaker 1>Mexican immigrants in the United States, even as the Brasero

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<v Speaker 1>program continued to recruit temporary Mexican workers. The Immigration Bureau

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<v Speaker 1>and Border Patrol led these military style roundups, claiming to

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<v Speaker 1>have deported one million Mexicans. Among those deported included many

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<v Speaker 1>US citizens of Mexican descent. In nineteen fifty one, President

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<v Speaker 1>Truman's Commission on Migratory Labor released a report blaming low

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<v Speaker 1>wages in the Southwest and social ills on illegal immigration.

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<v Speaker 1>The quote, the magnitude has reached entirely new levels in

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<v Speaker 1>the past seven years. In its newly achieved proportions, it

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<v Speaker 1>is virtually an invasion sound familiar, the report said. After

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<v Speaker 1>touring southern California in August nineteen fifty three to assess

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<v Speaker 1>the impact of illegal immigration, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Attorney General,

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<v Speaker 1>Herbert Browno Junior, pushed Congress to enact sanctions against employers

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<v Speaker 1>of undocumented workers and to confiscate the vehicles that were

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<v Speaker 1>used to bring them to the United States. While neither

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<v Speaker 1>proposal became law, the administration moved forward on plans for

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<v Speaker 1>a deep portation operation. On June ninth, nineteen fifty four,

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<v Speaker 1>i INS Commissioner General Joseph Swing announced the commencement of

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<v Speaker 1>Operation wet Back. The first phase of the operation began

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<v Speaker 1>in California and Arizona. Its effectiveness depended on publicity as

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<v Speaker 1>well as manpower. Extensive media coverage that often exaggerated the

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<v Speaker 1>strength of the border patrol, as well as targeted displays

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<v Speaker 1>of strength, gave the impression of a greater force in

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<v Speaker 1>many regions. This strategy convinced thousands who had entered the

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<v Speaker 1>US illegally to repatriate voluntarily. In Texas, for example, more

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<v Speaker 1>than sixty three thousand individuals returned to Mexico of their

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<v Speaker 1>own volition. US officials detained an additional forty two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>persons in July nineteen fifty four. An IONS report later

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<v Speaker 1>indicated that the agency apprehended nearly one point one million individuals.

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<v Speaker 1>The Ions operation one at least tacit support from several

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<v Speaker 1>key groups, the Mexican government, labour groups, and in US.

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<v Speaker 1>Even Mexican American civil rights groups acknowledged the labor problem,

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<v Speaker 1>but they withheld extensive criticism. While the raids disrupted the

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<v Speaker 1>growing seasons in California and Arizona, the government pacified farm

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<v Speaker 1>owners with promises of additional brasero labor. Though the program

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<v Speaker 1>was touted as a success, its efforts were short lived.

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<v Speaker 1>Illegal entry exploded again after the United States terminated the

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<v Speaker 1>Brescero program in nineteen fifty four. The reason I wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to share that is because there's nothing new under the sun.

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<v Speaker 1>We've always had a very good relationship with Mexicans. And

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<v Speaker 1>I'll speak for myself and Ritzie. Of course you can

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<v Speaker 1>chime in if you still choose. I'm from California. I

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<v Speaker 1>live in Arizona. The land that I live on used

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<v Speaker 1>to be Mexico and that border and the people that

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<v Speaker 1>live there, they have come and they have gone forever,

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<v Speaker 1>and they are not the people that they've been made

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<v Speaker 1>out to be on in the media.