Operation Wetback

E38599

Operation Wetback was a controversial 1954 U.S. government program that carried out mass deportations of Mexican immigrants, reflecting mid-20th-century nativist and anti-immigrant policies.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Operation Wetback canonical 2

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States immigration enforcement program
mass deportation campaign
appliesToJurisdiction United States government
surface form: United States federal government
authorizedBy Dwight D. Eisenhower
characterizedBy lack of due process
racial profiling
summary deportations
use of buses, trains, and ships for mass removals
coordinatedBy Joseph Swing
country United States of America
surface form: United States
criticizedFor deportation of U.S. citizens of Mexican descent
human rights abuses
inhumane transport and detention conditions
reinforcing anti-Mexican racism
describedAs a major episode of mass deportation in U.S. history
controversial
destination Mexico
estimatedNumberOfPeopleDeported hundreds of thousands
over one million (widely cited but disputed figure)
follows Bracero Program enforcement measures
hasCause anti-immigrant policies in mid-20th-century United States
concerns about unauthorized immigration from Mexico
nativist sentiment in the United States
pressure from Southwestern agricultural interests
hasEffect civil liberties violations
family separation
labor shortages in some U.S. agricultural sectors
mass deportation of Mexican migrants
historicalPeriod 1950s in the United States
influenced later U.S. immigration enforcement strategies
legalBasis Immigration and Nationality Act
surface form: Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
location Arizona
California, United States
surface form: California

Chicago, Illinois, United States
surface form: Chicago

southwestern United States
surface form: Southwestern United States

Texas
U.S.–Mexico border
surface form: United States–Mexico border
mainSubject Mexican Americans
Mexican immigrants
Mexican nationals
notableShipUsed SS Emancipation
organizer U.S. Customs and Border Protection
surface form: U.S. Border Patrol

Immigration and Naturalization Service
surface form: U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
partOf Cold War–era domestic policy
United States immigration policy
pointInTime Eisenhower administration
surface form: Dwight D. Eisenhower administration
startTime 1954
uses military-style sweeps
raids in Mexican American neighborhoods
roadblocks and checkpoints
workplace raids

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

SS Emancipation partOf Operation Wetback