In the 1950's began a program of going door-to-door in border states arresting everyone suspected of being an illegal alien. Hundreds of thousands of Hispanics workers were rounded up and deported to Mexico during
Operation Wetback. There was extensive physical abuse as Hispanics were crowded into concentration camps prior to deportation. One example was the
deportation ship Mercurio where 500 detainees were jammed onto a boat built to hold 80. Thousands of America-born citizens of Hispanic decent were caught up in the dragnet and deported as well.
That was then, today we haves
Operation Secure Communities. This program works with local police to round up Hispanics so they can be fingerprinted and processed for deportation. Hundreds of thousands of people have been swept up including thousands of American citizens. While, officially, the program is supposed to identify alien felons, the only crime a large percentage have committed is DWL (
Driving While Latino).
3 comments:
The migrant Latino worker is the 21st century version of plantation slaves: Although they are paid, they are paid subhuman wages to work in subhuman conditions because, after all, they are the current version of subhumans. Although conditions are not as bad as those suffered by plantation slaves of the 1800s, they are a far cry from conditions people have a right to expect. The good news for migrant Latinos is, if the most vocal Republicans have their way, the country will expand subhuman conditions and wages to as many people as possible -- good news in the sense that more people will begin to understand the plight of that people like Woody Guthrie spoke of nearly a century ago.This, of course, is an example of "American Exceptionalism". Those who use that term intend it as an arrogant term to describe what they view as American superiority. In fact, it merely reveals the height of arrogance that also leads many in our country to support treating as many people as possible as shabbily as possible.
American civilians accused of being illegal aliens are arrested in Alabama. Gov't is screwed up.
Maybe the State will throw them in jail and then force them to work on the same farms that the State wanted to stop them from working on. This time, they can force them to work for even less. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/12/06/382852/alabama-agriculture-department-promoting-plan-to-replace-immigrants-with-prisoners-to-farmers/
That would be pretty consistent.
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