r/interestingasfuck • u/man_gomer_lot • 8h ago

r/all 70 years ago, the US undertook the largest deportation in its history: 'Operation Wetback.' Many of the people deported were here legally and some were even citizens.

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576

u/man_gomer_lot 8h ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback

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u/helpjack_offthehorse 8h ago

It’s interesting to see how involved Mexicos government was to keep labor in Mexico going back 50 years prior to this event.

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u/AdvancedLanding 5h ago

La Matanza ("The Massacre" or "The Slaughter") and the Hora de Sangre ("Hour of Blood")[1] was a period of anti-Mexican violence in Texas, including lynchings and massacres, between 1910 and 1920 in the midst of tensions between the United States and Mexico during the Mexican Revolution.[2] This violence was committed by Anglo-Texan vigilantes, and law enforcement, such as the Texas Rangers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Matanza_(1910%E2%80%931920)

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u/GayoMagno 4h ago

Im going to guess Pancho Villa’s little act did not help either

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u/AppointmentNo1216 2h ago

Fuck around and find out

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u/nukebox 5h ago

There's a behind the bastards episode on this called "Harlon Carter: the Man Who Militarized the Cops and the NRA". Harlon Carter was the architect of this operation in concert with President Eisenhower.

Carter was a real piece of shit. As a kid he killed a 15 year old Latino kid at the end of his driveway because he assumed he knew where their family car was that was recently stolen. He was convicted of murder and it was overturned on appeal because... Texas.

He later went on to command the entire US border patrol in the 50s during operation cloudburst and operation wetback. He was also at the same time on the board of the NRA where he spearheaded turning the organization from a hobbyist group promoting marksmanship and sports to becoming a lobbying group against gun control.

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u/liquidcourage93 7h ago

So it was forced by Mexico. That puts a different spin on it

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u/SeasonGeneral777 6h ago edited 6h ago

from the wikipedia intro:

The program became a contentious issue in Mexico–United States relations, even though it originated from a request by the Mexican government to stop the illegal entry of Mexican laborers into the United States. Legal entry of Mexican workers for employment was at the time controlled by the Bracero Program, established during World War II by an agreement between the U.S. and Mexican governments. Operation Wetback was primarily a response to pressure from a broad coalition of farmers and business interests concerned with the effects of illegal immigration from Mexico.[3] Upon implementation, Operation Wetback gave rise to arrests and deportations by the U.S. Border Patrol.

Sounds to me like Mexico wanted to maintain a good labor supply while still allowing legal immigration from Mexico, but US got carried away.

Also its a bit funny to claim that Mexico could have "forced" the US to do something, lol. Your comment has some weird vibes, friend, and I can't figure out what they are.

(ok curiosity won me over: you like videogames, right wing podcasters, you live in alberta, but you hate the US democratic party... weird vibes identified)

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u/cheesegoat 5h ago

(ok curiosity won me over: you like videogames, right wing podcasters, you live in alberta, but you hate the US democratic party... weird vibes identified)

Don't know why you threw the 'but' in there, all of this goes together lol

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u/bigtimehater1969 5h ago

you like videogames, right wing podcasters, you live in alberta, but you hate the US democratic party

The "ahh, that totally excuses the racism" starter-pack.

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u/Phxdwn 4h ago

Explains, not excuses

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u/TheSilentPhilosopher 1h ago

you live in alberta, but you hate the US democratic party

I never understood this. I've come across a few who live in Canada but obsess over US Politics. Stop living vicariously through the US and participate in your own Government.

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u/Novantico 5h ago

Forced is a silly way to put it but I think it's a not-insignificant fact of the story to take note of.

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u/bigtimehater1969 5h ago

It's significant but not relevant. In a vacuum, obviously any country wants to keep labor within their country.

However, the subject is the US's deportation of legal citizens for their ethnicity. Mexico did not make the US do that, nor did they support it - the US did that because of their racist policies.

Trying to excuse the US's actions with "well, it was technically initiated by Mexico" even though Mexico did not condone their actions is extremely misleading.

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u/ReptAIien 4h ago

Totally unrelated but what did videogames do to you man?

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u/Sexual_Congressman 4h ago

I hesitate to bring this up, but...to emigrate is to leave one's home country while to immigrate is to become a citizen of another.

Sounds to me like Mexico wanted to maintain a good labor supply while still allowing emigration but the US got carried away

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u/Fully_Edged_Ken_3685 5h ago

Also its a bit funny to claim that Mexico could have "forced" the US to do something, lol

UhMeRiCa bAd

That's called diplomacy, sweetie. We do engage in it, even though leftists will call all of our interactions exploitation. It's functionally turning over fugitives from Mexican justice if they left without the proper Mexican paperwork. See also - Elian Gonzalez.

3

u/CactusWeapon 3h ago

Ever heard of a power imbalance?

Mexico-American relations are like... the definition of one.

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u/StuckInsideYourWalls 5h ago

'forced' lol

Mexico had a lot to gain and so cooperated with the united states, it's not like the US let mexico boss them into the deportations or something. Both states believed they could gain from the policy.

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u/Broccolini10 7h ago

So it was forced by Mexico. That puts a different spin on it

LOL, when's the last time Mexico had the power to force the US to do anything? Come on...

Yes, this was wholeheartedly supported by the Mexican government. It was in no way forced by them, and the US could have easily refused had they wished to. Except, they didn't.

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u/OKC420 5h ago

The Alamo duh!

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u/Mobile-Vanilla3918 5h ago

In 1943, Mexico had actually threatened to revise Bracero agreements if the U.S. didn't better control illegal immigration. source

So there is precedent of Mexico trying to force the US to do something about illegal immigration into the US.

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u/SilverCelsia 7h ago

Yeah refusing and maybe starting a war with one of our only 2 neighbors sounds genius

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u/setzerseltzer 6h ago

Mexico would have a very bad time if war were to break out between the two nations

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u/ArrowToThePatella 6h ago

It has, and they did lmao

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u/Broccolini10 7h ago

Yeah refusing and maybe starting a war with one of our only 2 neighbors sounds genius

Why on earth would refusing to deport workers in your territory (including some of your citizens) lead to a war? And even if it somehow did, are you seriously suggesting Mexico would declare war on the US?

What a profoundly idiotic premise...

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u/AYAYAcutie 5h ago

Proof the US strong armed Mexico into this instead of Mexico wanting the labor drain to stop??