jan 1, 1954 - Operation Wetback

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The program, “Operation Wetback,” referred to Mexican citizens who entered the U.S. by swimming across the Rio Grande River. It is the second phase of an immigration law enforcement initiative in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The operation targeted Mexican immigrants in California and Arizona and promoted the crackdown based on his assertion that “the Mexican wetback problem was becoming increasingly serious" because Mexican immigrants were “displacing domestic workers, affecting work conditions, spreading disease, and contributing to crime rates.” This is an example of violent perception on latinx communties which results in othering and villainization

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