Operation Wetback

Operation Wetback was an immigration law enforcement initiative by the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was created by Joseph May Swing, a retired United States Army lieutenant general and head of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The program was implemented in June 1954 by U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell. The short-lived operation used military-style tactics to remove Mexican immigrants from the United States. Although aimed at illegal Mexican immigrants, some American citizens and legal Mexican immigrants were also deported. Statistics from the Department of Homeland Security show that there were 17,695 "removals" and 232,769 "returns" during the 1955 fiscal year from July 1, 1954, to June 30, 1955. The program ended a few months after the 1955 fiscal year. Nowadays, the term 'wetback' can be considered "insulting and contemptuous". Millions of Mexicans had legally entered the country through joint immigration programs in the first half of the 20th century. These programs became a contentious issue in Mexico–United States relations, even though they originated at the request by the Mexican government to stop the illegal entry of Mexican laborers into the United States. Legal entry of Mexican workers for employment was at the time controlled by the Bracero Program, established during World War II by an agreement between the U.S. and Mexican governments. Operation Wetback was primarily a response to pressure from a broad coalition of farmers and business interests concerned with the effects of illegal immigration from Mexico. Upon implementation, Operation Wetback gave rise to arrests and deportations by the U.S. Border Patrol.