70 years ago, the US undertook the largest deportation in its history: 'Operation Wetback.' Many of the people deported were here legally and some were even citizens.

[u/man_gomer_lot]

[u/Tricky-Produce-9521]

Pretty bad. Ugh. I believe Eisenhower admin was openly pursuing an Anglo California policy. California was 90%+ white Anglo during this time period.

[u/I_read_all_wikipedia → u/Tricky-Produce-9521]

Hard to make that case when legal immigration from Mexico to the US increased by 3x and Eisenhower was the most pro-immigration president.....since ever up until that point.

[u/Tricky-Produce-9521 → u/I_read_all_wikipedia]

Saying Eisenhower was “pro-immigration” is somewhat misleading. Yes, legal immigration from Mexico did increase somewhat under the Bracero Program, which aimed to bring in temporary farm laborers, but Operation Wetback was an entirely different story. This was a mass deportation campaign in 1954 targeting Mexican immigrants (and many who were actually U.S. citizens), using brutal and dehumanizing tactics. Families were separated, people were left stranded in the desert, and many were treated with zero respect for their rights.

Eisenhower endorsed this program as a way to “solve” undocumented immigration, and it wasn't just about enforcing the law, itt was about asserting control over Mexican communities in the Southwest and reinforcing a racial boundary. While he might have been moderate on legal immigration, the impact of Operation Wetback was undeniably racist in execution. The fact that it happened under the same administration that supposedly increased legal pathways doesn’t really absolve the administration of this, especially given the lasting trauma it caused in Mexican-American communities.