Posted on 11/27/2011 4:46:13 AM PST by BarnacleCenturion
Fifty-three years ago, when newly elected Dwight Eisenhower moved into the White House, America's southern frontier was as porous as a spaghetti sieve. As many as 3 million illegal migrants had walked and waded northward over a period of several years for jobs in California, Arizona, Texas, and points beyond.
President Eisenhower cut off this illegal traffic. He did it quickly and decisively with only 1,075 United States Border Patrol agents – less than one-tenth of today's force. The operation is still highly praised among veterans of the Border Patrol.
Although there is little to no record of this operation in Ike's official papers, one piece of historic evidence indicates how he felt. In 1951, Ike wrote a letter to Sen. William Fulbright (D) of Arkansas. The senator had just proposed that a special commission be created by Congress to examine unethical conduct by government officials who accepted gifts and favors in exchange for special treatment of private individuals.
General Eisenhower, who was gearing up for his run for the presidency, said "Amen" to Senator Fulbright's proposal. He then quoted a report in The New York Times, highlighting one paragraph that said: "The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
It can be done.
OUTSTANDING article! Thanks for posting. HOORAY John Dillin!
All you need is the political will to do it.
The article is instructive in that for every illegal apprehended, 10 more self deported.
We like IKE!
Where there’s the will there’s a way. However, our government lacks the will. If you’re here illegally you are breaking the law. It doesn’t matter if a person has been here 20 years or 20 hours they should be deported. There is no statute of limitations where this is concerned...
I think I remember reading it when it came out in ‘06.
All it takes is the political will to stand up to corrupt US business people that hire the illegals, the border guards and cops that take the bribes, the judges that let the illegals walk, the American citizens that break the law by buying and using pot and coke, the judges that let them walk, the lawyers that defend them, the politicians that have vested interests in all phases of the illegals, and I could go on but this paragraph needs to end...and the first seven words said it all.
Might be helpful to read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracero_Program
with particular attention to the chart showing the number of workers each year from 1942-1967.
EXCELLENT article.
This was called ‘Operation Wetback’....always heard Pat Buchanan talk about it...never read anything ...thanks
Eisenhower invoked Operation Wetback to solve the growing problem of Jobs. The wetbacks had taken several million jobs and the GIs returning from WW2 were out of work.
It’s time to solve our unemployment problem again.
I have had to face the fact that there may be a significant number of American businessmen who welcome the cheap labor of the illegals and the downward pressure on all wages that this brings.
Appalling.
OW was in 1954. WWII had been over for 9 years.
“Then on June 17, 1954, what was called “Operation Wetback” began.”
There were no GIs returning from WWII in 1954.
I think he meant Korean veterans who had returned were not able to get jobs two years after returning home.
This sort of thing cannot be done today because there is NO politician of either party who actually wants the flood to abate, much less reverse. ALL of them desire the one party Democrat Socialist state that this will lead to. Whatever else they say about morality or free markets, all is negated by this one subject that comes down to Amnesty and 30-50 million new Democrat Socialist voters sooner or later. When that happens the last shred of the USA as it was until sometime between FDR and GWB will be forever gone.
Exactly right. The 'tearing families apart' and 'rounding people up' arguments are sophistry and lies.
Hell - you couldn't even use the same name today, much less take the actions....
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