Operation Wetback
27
MENTIONS
21
EPISODES
19
PODCASTS
Search complete. 27 mentions across 21 episodes found for "Operation Wetback".
Oct 20, 2026
Kenny WebsterHOST
Since I'm mostly Italian, I can only say like, Dago, WAP.
Kenny WebsterHOST
And then Operation Wetback.
Kenny WebsterHOST
You could say that because it was a government program.
Kenny WebsterHOST
It was a government job.
Adam GurriGUEST
Yeah, definitely.
Adam GurriGUEST
The big example of a successful mass deportation that they always point to, not to center too much on that topic, was Operation Wetback under Eisenhower.
Adam GurriGUEST
That claimed to deport a million people, but the lion's share of those were self-deportations.
Adam GurriGUEST
Um, so essentially they did terrorize people that had like pictures of, of Mexicans.
Matt MorseHOST
Worth noting.
Matt MorseHOST
deportation ships were actually used in the 1950s during Operation Wetback until August of 1956, at which point they were stopped due to an incident in which dozens of illegal aliens attempted to mutiny and commandeer the vessel, the deportation ship.
Matt MorseHOST
The mutiny ended up failing and five illegal aliens drowned in the process.
Matt MorseHOST
with the survivors of the incident calling the experience El Barco del Infierno, the boat from hell.
Judy WoodruffCORRESPONDENT
The door slamming shut in 1924 after millions of southern and eastern Europeans, including Jews and Italians, arrived at the turn of the century.
Judy WoodruffCORRESPONDENT
And multiple efforts to deport Mexicans in the 20th century, including Operation Wetback in 1954.
Nancy FonerGUEST
On a more positive light, immigrants have built America, and they've rebuilt America throughout American history.
Annie PollandSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
So we are in the Baldizzi family apartment.
Judy WoodruffHOST
The door slamming shut in 1924 after millions of Southern and Eastern Europeans, including Jews and Italians, arrived at the turn of the century.
Judy WoodruffHOST
And multiple efforts to deport Mexicans in the 20th century, including Operation Wetback in 1954.
Nancy FonerGUEST
On a more positive light, immigrants have built America, and they've rebuilt America throughout American history.
Annie PollandGUEST
So we are in the Baldizzi family apartment.
Steve FriendHOST
Now, What does that mean to me? It means a couple things.
Steve FriendHOST
One, if you know anything about history and recent history versus also history that's coming up on, what, 70 years? Operation Wetback.
Steve FriendHOST
The Eisenhower administration mobilized all resources to deport as many illegal aliens as they could during Dwight Eisenhower's presidency.
Steve FriendHOST
And when Donald Trump was elected president the second time, part two, number 47, he said that he wanted to beat that.
Richard RatboyHOST
Uh, I'm gonna read this last paragraph.
Richard RatboyHOST
Worth noting, deportation ships were used in the 1950s during Operation Wetback until August 1956 due to an incident in which dozens of illegal aliens attempted to mutiny and commandeer the vessel.
Richard RatboyHOST
The mutiny failed, and five illegal aliens drowned, with the survivors calling the experience El Barco del Infierno, the boat from hell.
FleccasHOST
[laughs]
Peyron BaxterHOST
It was better when we can have the Bracero program and bring in Mexican immigrants.
Peyron BaxterHOST
And then when we didn't, we have Operation Wetback and get them out of here.
Peyron BaxterHOST
It was better when we could just treat humans like the Capitol, that this place was set up to be.
Peyron BaxterHOST
So it's an inherently racist phrase.
Matt MorseHOST
We gotta get these people out of the damn country, whatever it takes.
Matt MorseHOST
Worth noting, deportation ships were actually used in the 1950s during Operation Wetback up until August of 1956 due to an incident in which dozens of illegal aliens attempted to mutiny and commandeer the vessel.
Matt MorseHOST
The mutiny failed, and five illegal aliens ended up drowning, with the survivors of the event calling the experience El Barco del Infierno.
Matt MorseHOST
In English, that means the boat from hell.
Matt MorseHOST
Is this what you voted for, potentially putting illegal aliens onto boats from hell and getting them out of here? Personally, I'm not opposed.
Matt MorseHOST
We have a country to save.
Matt MorseHOST
So between 1954, when Operation Wetback kicks, kicks, kicked up, up until August of 1956, we were actually conducting deportation, uh, operations using ships.
Matt MorseHOST
Similar to the plan that the Trump administration is considering, some of the illegal aliens tried to mutiny and take over the boat, and the mutiny failed, and some of them actually drowned, and it ended up becoming the boat from hell, is what they called it.
David WaldmanHOST
[laughs] And, you know, why bother with legal authority, right? "For three decades, Golden Bear has served as a floating classroom where thousands of cadets transformed classroom knowledge into practical experience at sea," a July announcement from the school read.
David WaldmanHOST
Such a plan would also conjure memories of the controversial 1950s campaign in which hundreds of thousands of Mexicans were deported in a large-scale deportation drive referred to as, you know it, Operation Wetback.
David WaldmanHOST
The campaign, named for a slur on Mexican immigrants, included expelling people by sea.
David WaldmanHOST
In August of 1956, chaos erupted aboard one of the ships near the Mexican border city of Tampico, though it has happened before.
11 more episodes mention Operation Wetback.
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