How Eisenhower Solved Illegal Border Crossings From Mexico!

[Denali]

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

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.

Although there is little to no record of this operation in Ike's official papers, one piece of historic evidence indicates how he felt. In 1951, Ike wrote a letter to Sen. William Fulbright (D) of Arkansas. The senator had just proposed that a special commission be created by Congress to examine unethical conduct by government officials who accepted gifts and favors in exchange for special treatment of private individuals.

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."

Amazing what the corruption of both parties has wrought for us isn't it, the posture all but obviously being the boot licking of illegals as their prime constituency...Can you imagine the knee-jerk wailing & knashing of teeth if such were to be implemented today?

[Bulletdog]

But if we stop the illegals from coming in and send the current ones back home to the country they love to advertise all over their cars that they are from, how will the Dems keep winning all these elections. The illegals are their best "early and often" voters.

They have recently been running ad campaigns here calling them "undocumented citizens" now. Apparently they are no longer people who illegally snuck across the border, parasitize the system, and vote for socialists and communists who offer them an ever broadening buffet of free stuff at MY expense. Oh no, apparently they are now my fellow US citizens that just don't have their "documents" yet.

If we fail as a society to stop this insanity, I really don't see how we can continue on as the country we have been for more than two centuries. We are losing this battle man.

[Airhasz]

How did Ike ever get away with the term wetbacks and win an election??? I can understand a winning a war against Nazi aggression, being the great leader that he was.

[Dienekes]

When I started as an agent with INS in 1972 there were still guys around that had been in on "Operation Wetback". My mentor, who was a dinosaur by any definition, was a "good old boy" from Texas. He used to say "I can't catch them all, but they can't keep me from trying." If he were here today, he would ask in bewilderment, "What the hell is wrong with you people?"

Those of us who busted our butts to deal with illegal immigrants, particularly the criminals, saw this stuff coming 35-40 years ago...

"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."

And now--there are no words to express the contempt I have for the successive Administrations, Congresses, and bureaucratic hacks that sat back and let things get to this point. "Traitors" is the kindest thing I can say about them.

Apres moi,le déluge.

[Denali]

How did Ike ever get away with the term wetbacks and win an election??? I can understand a winning a war against Nazi aggression, being the great leader that he was.

The term, "wetback" is not necessarily racial, its a term that was coined to describe individuals who had illicitly crossed the Rio Grande into the states from Mexico....Hence any one nabbed along the border was deemed a wetback!

[jpmuscle]

How did Ike ever get away with the term wetbacks and win an election??? I can understand a winning a war against Nazi aggression, being the great leader that he was.

America did not suck once as much as it currently does is my guess.

[SteyrAUG]

There is no money to be made by solving problems.

Today politicians make money by creating and / or allowing problems to develop and then declaring the need for extra funding to address the problems.

[Airhasz]

There is no money to be made by solving problems.

Today politicians make money by creating and / or allowing problems to develop and then declaring the need for extra funding to address the problems.

Excellent point!

[williejc]

Humanitarian crises is the new buzz word. Right to a better life is another phrase that I'm hearing. Oddly, the folks who are sympathetic to the crossing hordes never include the term illegal or law breaking in their discussion. The entire topic has all the delicate and sensitive aspects found in discussing race in a public forum.
I've not attended diversity training sessions in the last few years, but I bet your Kel-Tec collection that immigration sensitivity is now being included.

I live in a very conservative community but know many people who become uncomfortable when topics like crime rate, what they do to each other in the hood, widespread drug addiction, illiteracy rate, and immigration issues are discussed even in a sensitive manner. The guy who introduces these topics is deemed negative and soon excluded. By the way, exclusion is the way that the upper middle class deals with those who bring up negative thoughts.

[BIGUGLY]

I'm sure Eisenhower had not forgotten how the U.S. got into world war one. After they found out Germany was planning on working with Mexico to create a war at our border to keep the U.S. out of the fight in Europe.