Here's a few of those highlights to get to know and relearn an accurate account of our historical record on illegal immigration, beginning with how Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings some sixty years ago...On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show: Mark explains how we used to handle immigration - including what President Eisenhower used to do here in the country. We used to not sell out our own citizens, for the sake of those that came here illegally. Our politicians used to follow the Constitution and enact the border laws that we had - not anymore though. We now give illegal immigrants free tuition, healthcare, drivers licenses in some states, entitlements - all at the taxpayer's expense. Mark also compared our immigration policy to that of others - including Nicaragua, Honduras, and what Cesar Chavez used to do. There's no way that any country can survive when it is being overrun by illegals, regardless of what country they are from. The language, school system, economy and country are being attacked and our President is willingly letting it happen.
To make a long story short, the piece goes on to tell the tale of an all-too-familiar America that faced a tremendous breakdown in law enforcement with illegals by the hundreds of thousands pouring over the border annually, a business system of farmers and ranchers who'd become dependent on cheap, illegal labor, and a political corruption that profited from it as Eisenhower had worried would occur. So what did Ike do? In 1954, he hired Gen. Joseph Swing as the new INS commissioner, who busted up the corrupt connections of certain Senators to immigration officials, and launched "Operation Wetback" in a less politically correct era...ChristianScienceMonitor: [Sixty-one] 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.
That would be attrition, or perhaps better known as 'self-deportation!'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.
By mid-July, the crackdown extended northward into Utah, Nevada, and Idaho, and eastward to Texas.
By September, 80,000 had been taken into custody in Texas, and an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 illegals had left the Lone Star State voluntarily.
Unlike today, Mexicans caught in the roundup were not simply released at the border, where they could easily reenter the US. To discourage their return, Swing arranged for buses and trains to take many aliens deep within Mexico before being set free.This same effort could be repeated today, albeit under a more PC moniker, if we had a President and politicians in Washington who genuinely cared about the sovereignty of our nation! Border Patrol veterans who encourage pursuing such an effort today give a few final suggestions to political leaders...
Tens of thousands more were put aboard two hired ships, the Emancipation and the Mercurio. The ships ferried the aliens from Port Isabel, Texas, to Vera Cruz, Mexico, more than 500 miles south. ...
General Swing's fast-moving campaign soon secured America's borders – an accomplishment no other president has since equaled. Illegal migration had dropped 95 percent by the late 1950s.
While Congress debates building a fence on the border, these veterans say other actions should have higher priority.Reasonable. An effort that could not only restore order, but one that even Cesar Chavez could understand...
The Patrol veterans say enforcement could also be aided by a legalized guest- worker program that permits Mexicans to register in their country for temporary jobs in the US. Eisenhower's team ran such a program. It permitted up to 400,000 Mexicans a year to enter the US for various agriculture jobs that lasted for 12 to 52 weeks.
- End the current practice of taking captured Mexican aliens to the border and releasing them. Instead, deport them deep into Mexico, where return to the US would be more costly.
- Crack down hard on employers who hire illegals. Without jobs, the aliens won't come.
- End "catch and release" for non-Mexican aliens. It is common for illegal migrants not from Mexico to be set free after their arrest if they promise to appear later before a judge. Few show up.
Related links: Mark Levin: Cesar Chavez, Ralph Abernathy, Truman, Eisenhower - they all opposed illegal immigration
Sean Hannity endorses “Operation Wetback”
Dwight Eisenhower on Immigration
Media Ignore César Chávez’s Opposition to Illegal Immigration, Racial Advocacy
Cesar Chavez's Legacy: Iconic Civil Rights Leader's Controversial Take On Illegal Immigration Rarely Explored
Obama Celebrates Man Who Was Virulently Anti-Illegal Immigration On Cesar Chavez Day!
Look to Milton: Open borders and the welfare state
Milton Friedman - Illegal Immigration - PT 1
Deportation Numbers Unwrapped: Raw Statistics Reveal the Real Story of ICE Enforcement in Decline
History of Deportation in the United States
History of Illegal Immigration in U.S.
Undocumented (aka "Illegal") Immigration: A Short History and Timeline
Historical Timeline: History of Legal and Illegal Immigration to the United States
