June 17, 1954
Operation Wetback” began, a federal immigration enforcement effort directed at Mexicans who had entered the U.S. illegally. The offensive name of the program was symptomatic of the cultural and political climate of the times. An estimated 107,000 people were arrested between May and July 1954, and eventually an estimated 1,078,168 people were seized. The program was marked by abuse: people seized had no opportunity to recover their personal property, and many were left stranded in Mexico without food.
