How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico

[BrentWill4U]

I saw this on the Christian Science Monitor. The GOP has a long history of hating 'Wetbacks'

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0706/p09s01-coop.htm

How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico

By John Dillin
WASHINGTON


.....
Fifty-three years ago, when newly elected Dwight Eisenhower moved into the White House, America's southern frontier was as porous as a spaghetti sieve. As many as 3 million illegal migrants had walked and waded northward over a period of several years for jobs in California, Arizona, Texas, and points beyond.

President Eisenhower cut off this illegal traffic. He did it quickly and decisively with only 1,075 United States Border Patrol agents - less than one-tenth of today's force. The operation is still highly praised among veterans of the Border Patrol.

.....

General Eisenhower, who was gearing up for his run for the presidency, said "Amen" to Senator Fulbright's proposal. He then quoted a report in The New York Times, highlighting one paragraph that said: "The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."

....


Then on June 17, 1954, what was called "Operation Wetback" began. Because political resistance was lower in California and Arizona, the roundup of aliens began there. Some 750 agents swept northward through agricultural areas with a goal of 1,000 apprehensions a day. By the end of July, over 50,000 aliens were caught in the two states. Another 488,000, fearing arrest, had fled the country.

....

[Raydawg1234]

1. Oh boy you don't know what your in for

:popcorn:

[MADem]

2. All that work, all that effort

If they were serious about curbing undocumented working, they'd round up a thousand employers a day.

They'd have the problem solved in a week...though no one would have toilet paper in the public stalls....and they'd be vacuuming their own offices and dusting their own desks....

[Jim Sagle]

5. Or they'd have to pay minimum wage to get the work done.

[Just Me]

7. Yup.

I still don't understand the resistence to LEGAL immigration. :shrug:

I guess the rule of law just doesn't have the bite it used to,...or something. There are immigrants who obeyed the laws and became U.S. citizens and they are pissed off by all this crap. I don't blame them.

[MADem]

14. If they're legal they have rights--like minimum wage!

If they're illegal, they can be readily exploited without any recourse for them.

It's way cheaper for the businessman to hire the illegal, because he can rip the guy off and what's he gonna do about it? The angry people should be angry at the EMPLOYERS, not the employees. Water seeks its own level, after all.

[treestar]

15. Exactly, and this is WHY they are illegal

They would have a visa but for this.

[treestar]

16. There is no resistance to legal immigration; but there is some

to the current laws we have which are from the 1950s and irrational and don't benefit us either.

[sandnsea]

21. Path to Citizenship is called "amnesty"

So the ones who say they're against illegal immigration don't support the 11 year LEGAL path either. I don't get it.

[Just Me]

23. That's just, bullshit.

First of all, where does the eleven year legal path come from? If commitment to U.S. citizenship is the objective, so what?

But, here's the thing,...anyone who denies that the "rule of law" is being ignored in order to advance corporate interests,...it's just a matter of denial.

Damnit, we are ALL being oppressed by big corporacrats. It's a miracle for any entreprenuer to survive (outside rural America and even here). The sharks have been allowed to POSSESS the waters of humanity,...when we have the power to control that predatory destruction.

What the hell happened to values pertaining to advancing the human lot rather than enslaving it?

[sandnsea]

25. Sorry

I thought you support legal immigration. My mistake.

[lyonn]

10. There really was a time in the U.S. when ordinary U.S.

citizens worked the hotels, homes, public places that needed cleaning and as I remember the cost of hotel rooms, cleaning offices, etc. was reasonable. It also seems that the jobs were done better. Maybe I'm getting senile. Same goes for home construction, better work generally and still reasonable 20 years ago anyway. How can all this chatter about losing our day laborers will ruin our life style be proven?!

[leveymg]

3. Wouldn't work the same way. Not many would flee today.

There would be blood.

[Xipe Totec]

4. For every complex problem,

there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.

- H. L. Mencken

[azurnoir]

12. What I was thinking probibly fits that

but-ever see gangs of New York? Instead of deporting we could induct them into the military and send to Iraq after that they could be citizens and no one could say they had not earned it.

[Xipe Totec]

13. Here is a question for you

What service to country did you perform to earn the right to be a US citizen?

I'm not saying your suggestion is wrong, I just think it should be applied equally to everyone.

Read Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers". Your suggestion follows his line of thought.

[azurnoir]

22. Admittedly none

if such a solution were to actually be used it would almost certainly put an end to any complaints about how an "illegal" got citizenship and really there could be alternatives such as Vista, but the righties would raise a sh**storm over that.

[Xipe Totec]

24. ..

There you go! :thumbsup:

For the record, I didn't do anything to deserve this privilege either, other than to be born to a US father on foreign soil.

Half my brothers were born in the US, the other half in Mexico. We are all US citizens because our dad was an American citizen. One of my brothers served in the US Marines for 20 years. Not because he needed to get citizenship, but just because that's who he was.

Politically, he was a freeper, though by the time of the 2004 elections he was ready to switch to the Democratic side, or at least to sit out the election. He has passed away now; side effect of a very stressful military service (Panama, Gulf War-I, and several others).

At any rate, dealing with 2+ million illegal immigrants is a very complex problem. Some would jump at the opportunity to become US citizens in exchange for military service. Others just want to feed their families. Many others happen to be females and, as a group, would be reluctant to serve in the military.

It is a strange and warped situation with immigration laws.








:hi:

[BrentWill4U]

26. Just curious..

I always thought that you had to have a mom that was a US Citizen for that to be passed automatically..

[Xipe Totec]

28. Nope, either parent will do

it is called Jus sanguinus; law of the blood.

Also, if you are born in the US, you are a US citizen regardless of your parent's citizenship.

That is called Jus Solis; law of the soil.

However, Jewish lineage is passed on the maternal line only; if your mother was a Jew, then you are a Jew. If your father was a Jew,, but your mother is not, then you have to convert to become a Jew.

To become President of the US, you HAVE to be born in the US, so naturalized citizens like myself cannot hold that office.

In Mexico, on the other hand, you have to be born in Mexico and both parents have to be Mexican born in order to become President (so, technically, I can't become President of Mexico either).


:shrug:

[BrentWill4U]

31. I believe I was thinking naturalized..

Correct me if I am wrong, but if you are born outside the country and your mother is a US citizens, aren't you automatically a US citizens and don't have to be naturalized. Whereas, if you father is a US citizen, and you are born outside of the US you have to be naturalized. Seems like I remember that from law class in college.

[Xipe Totec]

32. Nope, you have to be naturalized either way

If you don't have a birth certificate showing you were born in the US, then you must go through the naturalization process. It is never automatic. You might be thinking of children born out of wedlock:

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Father: A child born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen father may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 301(g) INA, as made applicable by Section 309(a) INA provided:

1) a blood relationship between the applicant and the father is established by clear and convincing evidence;

2) the father had the nationality of the United States at the time of the applicant's birth;

3) the father (unless deceased) had agreed in writing to provide financial support for the person until the applicant reaches the age of 18 years, and

4) while the person is under the age of 18 years --

A) applicant is legitimated under the law of their residence or domicile,

B) father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or

C) the paternity of the applicant is established by adjudication court.

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother: A child born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 301(g) INA, as made applicable by Section 309(c) INA if the mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth, and if the mother had previously been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year.

http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html

[skipos]

6. Crack down on businesses that employ illegal immigrants

and that will solve many of our problems.

[Ms. Clio]

8. Of course, the "roundup" did not just snare "aliens"

"In some cases, illegal immigrants were deported along with their American-born children, who were by law U.S. citizens. The agents used a wide brush in their criteria for interrogating potential aliens. They adopted the practice of stopping "Mexican-looking" citizens on the street and asking for identification. This practice incited and angered many U.S. citizens who were of Mexican American descent. Opponents in both the United States and Mexico complained of "police-state" methods, and Operation Wetback was abandoned."

http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/timeline/20.html

[BrentWill4U]

11. Isn't that what this is really about?

White America worry that this nation is changing?

[Ms. Clio]

19. I agree

Here is an interesting essay that makes that point:

Cycles of Nativism in U.S. History

Despite being a nation of immigrants, the United States has also been a nation of nativists. At times we have offered, in Tom Paine's words, "asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty" from all parts of the world. At other times, our country has persecuted others: passing discriminatory laws against the foreign-born, denying their fundamental rights, and assaulting them with mob violence, even lynchings. We have welcomed immigrants in periods of expansion and optimism and reviled immigrants in periods of stagnation and cynicism. Our attitudes have depended primarily on domestic politics and economics, secondarily on the volume and characteristics of the newcomers. In short, American nativism has had less to do with "them" than us.

Fear and loathing of foreigners becomes more common during periods of political and/or economic crisis, as people seek a scapegoat to blame for problems. The "alien" immigrant can be an easy target for blame. Nativists' targets have reflected America's basic divisions: class, race, religion, and, to a lesser extent, language and culture. Yet each anti-immigrant cycle has its own dynamics.

more: http://www.energyofanation.org/95f01cf6-b15a-4923-8b98-f98f4e789eb0.html?NodeId=

[EFerrari]

33. You mean, "reverting", right?

:)

[treestar]

18. Right and if the Chicanos of that era protested you can bet

those of today are even more politically charged. It was the 1950s, after all.

[Ms. Clio]

20. Just the threat of deportations sent millions into the streets

You're right, it's a whole new era.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

27. Aka - "Collateral damage"

[Ms. Clio]

29. Well, better that 100 innocent American citizens be deported

than one "illegal" lettuce-picker go free.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

30. Or, one vicious bedpan emptier threatening our economy.

Not to mention the hardened chicken-pluckers or leaf-rakers.

Fortunately, they're easy to spot. Driving home to their digs in Beverly Hills in their Rolls-Royces.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. It has the focus on the workers, but look at the money quote

The rise in illegal border-crossing.... has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."

That is exactly what is happening now -- the government turning a blind eye to employer exploitation.

[treestar]

17. Well it was the 1950s and the main immigration law we still have

is from that era. Now it creates so many illegals we can't possibly keep up.