Operation Wetback: The Roots of Immigrant Deportations Today

In May 1954, the U.S. Border Patrol enacted “Operation Wetback,” a campaign to deport Mexican workers who were in the country illegally.

In May 1954, the U.S. Border Patrol enacted “Operation Wetback,” a campaign to deport Mexican workers who were in the country illegally. The program succeeded in rounding up over 1 million people, most of them men. Regardless of one’s views on the matter, we would be wise to recognize that the current crisis has its historical origins decades earlier.  

Written by Delia Fernández. Narration by Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle. Video production by Katherine Weiss, Dr. Nicholas B. Breyfogle, and Laura Seeger.