Typical extremist doofus. Are there two of these guys? The one that's rational and this insane one?
Concentration Camps or Free citizenship reward for criminal behavior are the only two choices?
I just can't help remembering simpler times, and clearly simpler decisions. Politicians, choose... the citizens you represent? or a monumentally expensive invading army with and attitude?
I am fluent in Spanish, but I refuse to play that game; I'l just say, YES, WE CAN!!
OPERATION WETBACK
(Original Official name of the Federal operation.)
During the 1950s, however, this "Good Old Boy" system changed under Eisenhower - if only for about 10 years.
In 1954, Ike appointed retired Gen. Joseph "Jumpin' Joe" Swing, a former West Point classmate and veteran of the 101st Airborne, as the new INS commissioner.
Influential politicians, including Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D) of Texas and Sen. Pat McCarran (D) of Nevada, favored open borders, and were dead set against strong border enforcement, Brownell said. But General Swing's close connections to the president shielded him - and the Border Patrol - from meddling by powerful political and corporate interests.
One of Swing's first decisive acts was to transfer certain entrenched immigration officials out of the border area to other regions of the country where their political connections with people such as Senator Johnson would have no effect.
Then on June 17, 1954, what was called "Operation Wetback" began. Because political resistance was lower in California and Arizona, the roundup of aliens began there. Some 750 agents swept northward through agricultural areas with a goal of 1,000 apprehensions a day.
By the end of July, over 50,000 aliens were caught in the two states. Another 488,000, fearing arrest, had fled the country.
By mid-July, the crackdown extended northward into Utah, Nevada, and Idaho, and eastward to Texas.
By September, 80,000 had been taken into custody in Texas, and an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 illegals had left the Lone Star State voluntarily.
Now, to me, that's in the neighborhood of 1,200,000 in three months.
RE: Operation Wetback
Operation Wetback uses the name “Wetback” which was a derogatory term applied to Mexicans laborers, both legal and illegal.
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.
The following is taken from the book:
Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America by Mae Ngai of Columbia University
If I read its history right, 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 1960-1961, 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 -1964.
Ultimately, with the lack of evidence and documentation concerning the treatment of laborers in Operation Wetback, the level of mistreatment remains unclear and unknown.