OPERATION WETBACK: ITS EFFECT ON ME

My dad has told me stories of being assigned to watch for immigration patrols while he was growing up in New Mexico during the 60’s. As a young boy, he was to watch from the fence to alert the workers in his family’s ranch so that they could have time to hide. These type of roundups of immigrant workers have their origins in Operation Wetback, which was first introduced in California in 1954.

This policy, which organized the mass deportation of immigrant Mexican laborers, contributed to the American public's view of immigrants as criminals and wrong doers. It used an offensive term for Mexican immigrants in its title, normalizing the racism directed towards these people in the United States. The operation also used military-style tactics and funding in carrying out its mandate, which influenced the methods of the Border Patrol to this day.

Personally, although I am equally of Mexican descent and Bohemian descent, I never grew up identifying with my Mexican heritage beyond making salsa at home. I think that my dad was influenced by the popular culture’s view of Mexican people and sought to distance himself from that image. Had it not been for the negativity and racism towards Mexican immigrants in the United States, which was amplified as a result of Operation Wetback, I might have grown up in a family that was more proud of it’s Mexican history and heritage

References

Blakemore, E. (2018, March 23). The Largest Mass Deportation in American History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/operation-wetback-eisenhower-1954-deportation

From the Archives: A 1950 surge in border crossings. (2018, September 28). Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-1950-surge-in-border-crossings-20180821-htmlstory.html

Funderburk, B. (2017, September 04). Operation Wetback. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Operation-Wetback