How Eisenhower solved illegal border crossings from Mexico

By John Dillin July 6, 2006

WASHINGTON — George W. Bush isn't the first Republican president to face a full-blown immigration crisis on the US-Mexican border.

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.

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."

Years later, the late Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower's first attorney general, said in an interview with this writer that the president had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration when he took office.

America "was faced with a breakdown in law enforcement on a very large scale," Mr. Brownell said. "When I say large scale, I mean hundreds of thousands were coming in from Mexico [every year] without restraint."

Although an on-and-off guest-worker program for Mexicans was operating at the time, farmers and ranchers in the Southwest had become dependent on an additional low-cost, docile, illegal labor force of up to 3 million, mostly Mexican, laborers.

According to the Handbook of Texas Online, published by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association, this illegal workforce had a severe impact on the wages of ordinary working Americans. The Handbook Online reports that a study by the President's Commission on Migratory Labor in Texas in 1950 found that cotton growers in the Rio Grande Valley, where most illegal aliens in Texas worked, paid wages that were "approximately half" the farm wages paid elsewhere in the state.

Profits from illegal labor led to the kind of corruption that apparently worried Eisenhower. Joseph White, a retired 21-year veteran of the Border Patrol, says that in the early 1950s, some senior US officials overseeing immigration enforcement "had friends among the ranchers," and agents "did not dare" arrest their illegal workers.

Walt Edwards, who joined the Border Patrol in 1951, tells a similar story. He says: "When we caught illegal aliens on farms and ranches, the farmer or rancher would often call and complain [to officials in El Paso]. And depending on how politically connected they were, there would be political intervention. That is how we got into this mess we are in now."

Bill Chambers, who worked for a combined 33 years for the Border Patrol and the then-called US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), says politically powerful people are still fueling the flow of illegals.

During the 1950s, however, this "Good Old Boy" system changed under Eisenhower – if only for about 10 years.

In 1954, Ike appointed retired Gen. Joseph "Jumpin' Joe" Swing, a former West Point classmate and veteran of the 101st Airborne, as the new INS commissioner.

Influential politicians, including Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson (D) of Texas and Sen. Pat McCarran (D) of Nevada, favored open borders, and were dead set against strong border enforcement, Brownell said. But General Swing's close connections to the president shielded him – and the Border Patrol – from meddling by powerful political and corporate interests.

One of Swing's first decisive acts was to transfer certain entrenched immigration officials out of the border area to other regions of the country where their political connections with people such as Senator Johnson would have no effect.

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.

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.

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.

The sea voyage was "a rough trip, and they did not like it," says Don Coppock, who worked his way up from Border Patrolman in 1941 to eventually head the Border Patrol from 1960 to 1973.

Mr. Coppock says he "cannot understand why [President] Bush let [today's] problem get away from him as it has. I guess it was his compassionate conservatism, and trying to please [Mexican President] Vincente Fox."

There are now said to be 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the US. Of the Mexicans who live here, an estimated 85 percent are here illegally.

One day in 1954, Border Patrol agent Walt Edwards picked up a newspaper in Big Spring, Texas, and saw some startling news. The government was launching an all-out drive to oust illegal aliens from the United States.

The orders came straight from the top, where the new president, Dwight Eisenhower, had put a former West Point classmate, Gen. Joseph Swing, in charge of immigration enforcement.

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.

Several retired Border Patrol agents who took part in the 1950s effort, including Mr. Edwards, say much of what Swing did could be repeated today.

"Some say we cannot send 12 million illegals now in the United States back where they came from. Of course we can!" Edwards says.

Donald Coppock, who headed the Patrol from 1960 to 1973, says that if Swing and Ike were still running immigration enforcement, "they'd be on top of this in a minute."

William Chambers, another '50s veteran, agrees. "They could do a pretty good job" sealing the border.

Edwards says: "When we start enforcing the law, these various businesses are, on their own, going to replace their [illegal] workforce with a legal workforce."

While Congress debates building a fence on the border, these veterans say other actions should have higher priority.

1. 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.

2. Crack down hard on employers who hire illegals. Without jobs, the aliens won't come.

3. 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.

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.

• John Dillin is former managing editor of the Monitor.

Some here are proponents of open border. I'm not. I see how wages are driven down by illegal immigrants while they play the system for handouts at every turn. Not to mention the poison and slaves they bring with them. For over 12 years my brothers and sisters have been returning from those hell holes over seas. Fighting the enemies of this country. When they all have jobs then I may be willing to listen as to how we can accommodate foreign workers. Until then I say they are a burden that should have been dealt with many years ago. It's not about race it's about Texans being able to take care of Texas first.

By "some," you mean "one." Being a free market anarchist is pretty lonely sometimes.

But, let me see if I can't offer a partial solution to the immigration problem. First of all, here's three things I think we can all agree on:

1. Workers migrate from areas of low wages to areas of high wages.

Examples of this are everywhere. Why do you think farm boys left the farms for the cities?

2. Businesses migrate from areas of high wages to areas of low wages.

That's why your IPhone was made in China, your sneakers in Vietnam, and your computer in Thailand.

3. Wages in the United States are artificially high because of minimum wage laws.

And they're getting higher. Trust me, there isn't a hamburger flipper in the world worth $15 an hour.

So, it isn't any big mystery why workers from Mexico are coming here, and businesses are moving to China. Laws of economics are as inimitable as laws of mathematics.

Do you want businesses to stay here, and Mexicans to stay in Mexico?

REPEAL MINIMUM WAGE LAWS!

There, I solved those problems. Next week I'll start working on that cancer cure.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Wages are not the only issue, Purchasing Power and general Cost of Living are very important factors in deciding where to move to and to live.

Again Wages are not the only issue relating to where to conduct business.

Other costs e.g. Cost of Shipping, Cost of and How Much Bureaucracy, and very important for Manufacturing in one Country and Shipping to and Selling in another Country is Cost of Import Duties

The overall cost of doing business is the deciding factor not just Wages.

The United States is not the only Country that has a Minimum Wage and some Countries have a Higher Minimum then the United States, e.g. :
Germany – app $11.00 --- Purchasing Power Parity Adjusted – $10.18
France - $12.35 --- Purchasing Power Parity Adjusted - $10.60
Australia - $15.81 --- Purchasing Power Parity Adjusted - $10.20

Yes, I want Businesses to stay here and Mexicans and other Illegals to stay in their own Countries, but my solution is different and a LOT better then your solution of Repealing Minimum Wage Laws.

And I hate to think of what your Solution and Cure would be for Cancer

My Solutions for keeping Businesses here and Illegal Aliens out, are very simple and very logical.

How about instead of Repealing Minimum Wage Laws in the United States, YOU get Mexico to have a Minimum Wage as High or Higher then the United Stated and that the Standard of Living in Mexico is as good or better then the Standard of Living in the United States.

This would also apply to the rest of the World with a Minimum Wage and Standard of Living that is Less then the United States.

Now since there is really no way to force a high Minimum Wage on other Countries. This is what my Solution is and what I would do if I were President.

To keep Businesses here and to bring back the ones that left.

Repeal NAFTA and GATT.

Place high import duties on everything that a US Based Company moved manufacturing out of the USA to save money on.

As an example place a high enough duty on Autolite so that it is cheaper to make the Spark Plugs in Ohio then where they moved the Manufacturing to. And I would keep raising it until they did move Manufacturing back to Ohio.

These are not the only things that can be done and I have a lot of other ideas for bringing jobs back but this should be enough to give everyone something to digest for now.

To Keep Mexicans and other Illegals where they belong which is in their own Countries.

Make the Penalty for Hiring Illegals great enough to convince Employers to Not Hire Illegals.

Don't give any Benefits, Government Services or Protections at all to Illegals e.g.

No Free Medical Care at all including EMTs If they don't have the money on their person then screw them.

Illegals do not have the protection of the Legal System and can not sue any Citizen including Law Enforcers, for any reason.

The Rights of the Bill of Rights are only for American Citizens or Legal Guests, Illegals have NO RIGHTS.

No More Anchor Babies.

I also have other Ideas on keeping Illegals out of the USA, but these should be sufficient to keep them in their own Countries.

True, there are many other factors. Climate is a big one, as are taxes, laws, regulations, etc. But without government intrusion into the marketplace, cost of living is lower where wages are lower.

As I stated above, government intrusion into the marketplace is certainly a factor. The less government intrusion, the better (and no government intrusion would be best).

True. And all of those countries also have an influx of immigrants. Where do you think all those Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East are coming from?

Mexico has enough problems already. Why would you want to saddle them with even more?

Really, if minimum wage laws are such a good thing, why stop at a measly $10 or $15 an hour? Why not just make it $50 an hour? Then we'll all be rich!

I have problems with them as well, but probably not for the same reasons.

Here's a better idea. Why not repeal the business taxes for Autolite? And while we're at it, we can remove all those senseless laws, rules, and regulations that tell Autolite how to run their own business.

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Don't give any Benefits, Government Services or Protections at all to Illegals e.g.

No Free Medical Care at all including EMTs If they don't have the money on their person then screw them.

I'm with you there. Every time government sticks its hands into health care, it manages to screw it up. Remove those so-called "benefits" for everyone else, as well. If someone doesn't have enough money for health care, rent, or food, that's what private charities are for.

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The Rights of the Bill of Rights are only for American Citizens or Legal Guests, Illegals have NO RIGHTS.

The rights enumerated in the Constitution, and many others, were not "granted" to us by the Constitution, or any government. They were given to us by God. The government has no right to deny them to "illegals," to us, or to anyone else.

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No More Anchor Babies.

If you concede that we have to have a government and immigration laws (I will concede neither), then this is reasonable.

Onward and upward,
airforce

The constitution enumerated the powers of the federal government, the powers of individual branches, the format of the government and the covenant between the government and the people and States. To speak to both airforce and Vader, illegal aliens have natural rights just like American citizens; however, the United States of America is a sovereign nation which was granted the authority to limit immigration and travel within our borders to non-citizens and foreign enemies.

Illegal aliens have no rights or privileges greater than a citizen. They have no rights to break our laws. They have no rights to special exceptions. They have no rights to bypass borders. They have no rights to take jobs from citizens at higher or lower wages. They have no rights to take services paid through taxes or fees. Let's call them what they are, they are criminals. By breaking both State and Federal laws, these illegal aliens do not have a right to be present in the US, period. They left their right to freedoms at the border by not following our laws.

Before one starts talking about fairness; in a SHTF situation, do people have the right to break into your home, take your food, drink your water and kill your families? My faith teaches me to be charitable, but people do not have a right to take stuff in mine. There is no fairness when my life or my families life is at risk.

I am not a proponent of open borders and I do understand the value of immigration and low cost labor. I believe in free markets to a limit and realize that free trade agreements like NAFTA were not a good idea when social welfare programs exist. I see that many of the regulations that were proposed years ago to hold companies accountable for pollution and destruction have been abused by anarchists, communists, atheists and those that want power. We have atheists and secularists that don't understand that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion. The 1st amendment does not separate religion from government, it merely doesn't allow establishment of a single government sponsored religion that someone must join or infringe the practice of. That being said; animal sacrifices, murder, intimidation with death, beheading, and severing of body parts doesn't fit our 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th amendments.

If we wish to maintain a constitution protecting our god given rights, we must maintain a sovereign government that defends our borders from all enemies foreign and domestic, and that includes the 10, 20, 30 or 40 million illegal aliens that crossed our borders or overstayed their visas.

While I'm not a big fan of the government telling me what I have to pay my workers; their were valid reasons why the minimum wage law became necessary.

Corporate greed is the source of the problem.

The small family farms have always had a hard time being competitive. The large scale corporate farms drove the family operations out of business and didn't want to pay enough for the workers to feed themselves. If we still had slave labor they'd use it. In many cases the Mexican's and the Negroes were treated no better than the slaves of old.

Same goes for the manufacturing sector. The corporations always exploited the American worker until they finally put their foot down, went on strike, formed unions and fought for fair treatment. Then these corporations bought enough politicians until they could pass the trade treaties that allow them to move everything overseas where they pollute at will and exploit the workforce.

I am not anti-corporation, yet I understand your points. Pooling of resources to grow a business that is not owned by government can be a very good thing.

Sociopaths will be sociopaths. Corporations at their very base are not sociopathic. Publically traded corporations are owned by many people. If corporations are doing bad things, it is the people that run them that are to blame.

That's the whole thing. They're not "taking" any jobs. No "illegal" anywhere ever put a gun to an employer's head and said, "Give me that job, or else."

We gave them those jobs, with our stupid economic policies. And we shipped millions of jobs overseas. And still more jobs have simply been priced or regulated out of existence.

If you're asking me to defend big business, I'm not going to. Businesses actually encouraged the government to intervene in the market, by lobbying for special favors and protections, just as labor did. And they still are. Crony capitalism is alive and well.

Did some industries take advantage of workers? Of course. But it's interesting to note that the main impetus behind the minimum wage was to stop black workers from taking jobs from whites. When employers had to pay blacks the same wage they paid whites, the reasoning went, they would simply hire the whites. When you realize that Democrats were behind the minimum wage, that's not all that surprising.

Onward and upward,
airforce

I like to add this every time this discussion comes up.
If so many of our jobs have been shipped overseas and to Mexico then what the hell are all these Mexicans doing up here in the states?
The Chinese ship goods to Mexico where Mexicans put "Assembled in Mexico" labels on them and rebox them for shipment to the states under the NAFTA. They send them to Canada where they put "Assembled in Canada" labels on them and rebox them for shipment to the states under the NAFTA.
Thousands of Americans went to Mexico for the jobs and the Mexicans came up here.
To stop illegals from taking jobs up here all the States need to do is start arresting Employers.