'Operation Wetback', How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico

I thought it was time to re-visit this one...

From The Christian Science Monitor:

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.”

Years later, the late Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower’s first attorney general, said in an interview with this writer that the president had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration when he took office.

America “was faced with a breakdown in law enforcement on a very large scale,” Mr. Brownell said. “When I say large scale, I mean hundreds of thousands were coming in from Mexico [every year] without restraint.”

Although an on-and-off guest-worker program for Mexicans was operating at the time, farmers and ranchers in the Southwest had become dependent on an additional low-cost, docile, illegal labor force of up to 3 million, mostly Mexican, laborers.

According to the Handbook of Texas Online, published by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association, this illegal workforce had a severe impact on the wages of ordinary working Americans. The Handbook Online reports that a study by the President’s Commission on Migratory Labor in Texas in 1950 found that cotton growers in the Rio Grande Valley, where most illegal aliens in Texas worked, paid wages that were “approximately half” the farm wages paid elsewhere in the state.

Profits from illegal labor led to the kind of corruption that apparently worried Eisenhower. Joseph White, a retired 21-year veteran of the Border Patrol, says that in the early 1950s, some senior US officials overseeing immigration enforcement “had friends among the ranchers,” and agents “did not dare” arrest their illegal workers.

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.

Aren’t you just dying to know what he did to solve this problem?

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.

Unlike today, Mexicans caught in the roundup were not simply released at the border, where they could easily reenter the US. To discourage their return, Swing arranged for buses and trains to take many aliens deep within Mexico before being set free.

Tens of thousands more were put aboard two hired ships, the Emancipation and the Mercurio. The ships ferried the aliens from Port Isabel, Texas, to Vera Cruz, Mexico, more than 500 miles south.

The sea voyage was “a rough trip, and they did not like it,” says Don Coppock, who worked his way up from Border Patrolman in 1941 to eventually head the Border Patrol from 1960 to 1973.

HOOAH! That is what I am talking about! Hey President Bush! Read this and learn something!

I am going to send this article to the Press, The White House and Congress; maybe you should as well.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Random Yak, Adam's Blog, Maggie's Notebook, Leaning Straight Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, Conservative Thoughts, Pursuing Holiness, The Magical Rose Garden, Faultline USA, third world county, stikNstein... has no mercy, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Blue Star Chronicles, Planck's Constant, Right Voices, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Technorati Tags: news, politics, eisenhower, illegal immigration, illegal aliens, border, border security, operation wetback

The Uncooperative Radio Show Recording April 28, 2007

The Illegal Alien weekly roundup. Is Iran in Iraq? Our military heroes.

Subject: Illegal Alien weekly roundup which includes “Operation Wetback”. And Iran is in Iraq you stupid liberals! Then some tales of our military heroes.

Sources:

• Agents: No confidence in border chief and Illegal Aliens Get Tax Refunds!
• 'Operation Wetback', How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico
• Rep Boehner’s Feet Held to the Fire
• OUR VIEW: A lawsuit over language
• A Hero Every American Should Know
• Petraeus: Interrogations Reveal Iranian Influence in Iraq

Technorati Tags: humor, radio, live internet radio, talk radio, opinion, conservative, independent, podcast, military, illegal immigration, illegal aliens, border, border security, news, politics

Show Notes 07/10/2014

Thursday Show 7/10/14

OPERATION WETBACK

Operation Wetback was a repatriation project of the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to remove illegal Mexican immigrants ("wetbacks") from the Southwest. During the first decades of the twentieth century, the majority of migrant workers who crossed the border illegally did not have adequate protection against exploitation by American farmers.

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Obama administration tracking Muslim candidates for military, Pentagon positions

The administration of President Barack Obama has been identifying Muslims in the military in an effort to encourage their presence. Officials said the Defense Department has been keeping records and tracking Muslims. They said the administration sought to attract Muslims both to the military and to the Pentagon.

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Agenda 21

Have you heard about Agenda 21 in the News? Not sure what to think? Here are some Myths and Facts: Myth: Agenda 21 seeks to promote “world government” through the creation of “a centralized planning agency [that] would be responsible for oversight into all areas of our lives.”

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Screaming pig threatens children walking through Maine woods

Capt. Rick Stubbert tells the Morning Sentinel that the children were walking along a trail in the wooded area between the local middle school and the high school at about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday when the pig confronted them "screaming at the kids and chasing them."

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Paralyzed dog gets homemake wheelchair from stor employees

Pierce had dropped Wally off at her vet's kennel service late last month, as she left for a quick trip out of town. But when she returned to pick him up, she was whisked into an examination room.

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Show Notes 11-15-15

Sunday show 11-15-15

Black Jack Pershing
Once in US history an episode of Islamic terrorism was very quickly stopped. It happened in the Philippines about 1911, when Gen. John J. Pershing was in command of the garrison. There had been numerous Islamic terrorist attacks, so "Black Jack" told his boys to catch the perps and teach them a lesson.
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Bernie Sanders: Climate Change is Greatest Security Threat and ‘Directly Related to Growth of Terrorism’
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said in the Democratic debate on CBS News on Saturday night that climate change is the greatest national security threat America faces and is “directly related to the growth of terrorism.”
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Speaker Ryan: 'Veterans Fought to Preserve Our Heritage, But It's Up to Us to Pass on That Heritage'
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), speaking Wednesday at a Veterans Day event in Racine, said the best way to honor those who fought and died for their country is to teach children what those veterans were fighting to save.
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Baltimore records 300th homicide of the year
Baltimore has recorded its 300th homicide of the year. Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said in a statement Saturday evening that it was a "sad homicide milestone." He said that "it's important to pause and vow to continue our collective fight to find a better path forward."
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Operation Wetback
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.
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Sheriff Joe beats Obama to Supreme Court on amnesty
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Feds to ban smoking in public housing
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is moving forward with regulations to ban smoking in public housing.
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Interior Department: Delmarva Peninsula Fox Squirrel No Longer at Risk of Extinction
The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced on Friday that one on the animals included on the first list of endangered species nearly a half century ago is no longer at risk of extinction.
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Attorney: If Americans Don’t Fight For Religious Liberty, They Will Lose It
Hostile attacks on religion freedom are increasing at a dramatic pace, and if Americans don’t stand up and fight for their First Amendment rights, they will lose them, warns attorney and constitutional scholar Kelly Shackelford.
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Solving the Illegal Immigration Dilemma

Cross posted from The Peoples Patriot

Illegal immigration has finally been noticed by the media and even by some politicians. After fifty years of neglect and incompetent management, we can finally all agree that illegal immigration is a problem that must be dealt with right now. The problem is so urgent even the illegal aliens consider it a problem.

While considerable blame is being tossed about, and rhetoric parsed, the “solutions” being offered for consideration are flawed and unworkable. Any country’s immigration laws should meet a basic criteria whereby the guest country and it’s people benefit from immigration. Our country is no exception.

Most importantly, any solution to illegal immigration shouldn’t compromise the Constitution or the rule of law.

Any legislation must uphold the rule of law. That is to say everyone must be treated equally by the legislation and no one should be above the law. This means that under no circumstances, any person or business that has broken our laws, should be excused for doing so.

The legislation must meet Constitutional standards. Legislation must not allow for a new class of residents with partial Constitutional rights. Either you are a citizen or not. We cannot have a sub class of residents such as guest workers with partial rights.

All of the so called immigration solutions to date do not meet this simple criteria. Irrespective of the fact that we pay people handsome sums of money to run this country and provide sensible policies for dealing with our challenges, I a mere citizen, will offer a solution that contains the necessary ingredients.

Ten Point Plan to End Illegal Immigration

1. The border must be controlled with a wall and/or very intense (military) enforcement there. I prefer a wall. The San Diego wall proves that it works. The flow of illegal entrants must be stopped at the border for the sake of eliminating illegal immigration and strengthening national security.


2. Severe work place enforcement must begin immediately. Employers are to be fined in amounts that exceed the normal costs of doing business. They must also face prison time in addition to monetary fines. The costs of hiring illegal workers must exceed the benefits for hiring illegal workers. The resulting perp walks must be widely publicized and these traitorous businesses must be viewed for what they are.


3. Any hope of Amnesty must be eliminated. Amnesty is as strong a magnet for illegal aliens as are jobs and free social services. There cannot be any amnesty for the 30 million illegal aliens already here. Amnesty would put this group of people above our laws. To maintain the rule of law, the principle upon which this country was built, these millions of aliens must face the consequences of their illegal actions.There also cannot be a guest worker program that allows for a path to citizenship. People are to immigrate to this country because they want to be a part of it not because they want to work here. We are a nation not a factory and it’s time we run the country this way.


4. All social benefits awarded to illegal aliens must be completely eliminated. No free health care (except life and death situations), no free education, no welfare, no social benefits of any kind.I suggest a phase in period of a year for the elimination of these benefits. That will do a couple of things. First it will ameliorate the suddenness of this enforcement technique, allowing aliens a full year to get their affairs in order before leaving. Second it will make the exodus more orderly by allowing illegal alien, school children to finish up instead of abruptly being taken out of school. Thirdly, it shields this action from the accusation of being overly harsh.


5. The anchor baby law needs to either be interpreted properly or changed not to allow anchor babies. The anchor baby phenomenon isn’t due to a flawed Constitutional Amendment, rather it’s due to erroneous interpretation by inept and agenda pushing justices. Either way, whether it be proper interpretation or new legislation, there must be an end to anchor baby status. If need be, a special Supreme Court session should be called for the sole purpose of clarifying the true meaning of the 14th Amendment.


6. Chain migration must be eliminated. Chain migration is a phenomenon due to families being allowed to bring in other family members from foreign countries. If we are to maintain chain migration, it should be limited to immediate family members only, instead of cousins of cousins etc. Chain migration is the equivalent of a never ending stream of immigrants.


7. A law must be passed that says “if you are caught in this country illegally, you will never be eligible for legal immigration or a guest worker program. This will provide an incentive for illegal aliens to leave before getting caught here illegally.


8. Spot raids and work place raids must continue and be stepped up. This sends the message that our laws are being enforced. It’s like the speed trap on the highway that keeps everyone driving at the speed limit. You slow down when you know you can get caught. The same principle holds true with illegal immigration.


9. Aiding and abetting laws need to be toughened and also enforced to the maximum extent. This includes sanctuary city policies that coddle the lawless. Any city that has sanctuary policies will forfeit all federal funding until and unless the city complies with all immigration laws.Any business that aids and abets illegal aliens must be fully prosecuted, heavily fined and incarcerated where appropriate. This would put an end to programs like Bank of America’s credit cards for illegal aliens program that makes it easier for illegal aliens to be here and remain under the radar.


10. There must be a Federal, State and Local government proclamation putting illegal aliens and their supporters on notice. The proclamation will clearly state that from a certain date forward, these entities consider illegal immigration a grave problem that will be met with total enforcement of our laws. In essence, the proclamation will make formal, a policy that no longer tolerates illegal immigration. Amazingly in today’s environment, this is absent.

Having all of these things in place at the same time will allow attrition to work to it’s full potential. It addresses the here and now by stopping the flow at the border and through immediate work place enforcement and spot raids. It gives the exodus order in that those not caught at the workplace, will be given up to a year to leave, before ALL social benefits run out and before eligibility of future naturalization is forfeited.

Additionally, the magnets for illegal aliens will have been eliminated. There is no reason for illegal aliens to want to come or stay here. There will be no jobs, no hope for amnesty, no anchor babies, no social benefits.

Most importantly, this ten point approach doesn’t compromise the rule of law and our Constitution.

Adding the elimination of social benefits to strict enforcement is sure to work. Eisenhower showed us in the fifties that enforcement itself works. The added element of “no magnets” will only fortify that technique.

For the most part, it is the illegal alien advocacy that touts massive round ups and deportations. Knowing how unpleasant it could be to witness that. With attrition, there is a lesser degree of the unpleasantness. With attrition, the illegal aliens will leave the same way they came, under their own volition and their own expense.

Yes we can deport 12 million people. Eisenhower through Operation Wetback, deported about a million back in the fifties. Actually, less than 100,000 were arrested and deported. The other 900,000 seeing the crackdown and laws being enforced, deported themselves. This proves that enforcement works. It proves enforcement aids attrition.

A side note to Ike’s handling of the immigration issue in the fifties is he actually implemented a Guest Worker Program strictly for agriculture. It worked too. Agriculture migrants were allowed to work and did leave at the end of a 54 week period. You can do these things if you have the spine to enforce laws and have a workable system. Today we don’t have these things.

So there you have it, a sensible ten point plan to eliminate illegal immigration. One that upholds the very foundations of our nation, the rule of law and the Constitution. Let the debate begin.

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***Other CAII Posts Today***Common Sense America - The Land of the Free

GA Crime Watch - United States vs. Vargas

The Undocumented Blogger - Facts About Illegal Immigrants?

Illegal Aliens Must Go! - If Illegal Aliens Were a Separate U.S. State

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This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII). If you would like to participate, please go to the above link to learn more. Afterwards, email stiknstein-at-gmail-dot-com and let us know at what level you would like to participate.


Technorati Tags: news, politics, illegal aliens, illegal immigration, immigration, border, border security