The word “wetback” has a long historical trace. It was originally used to refer to Mexicans who illegally entered the US by swimming across the Rio Grande, a river that flows from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico. The definition evolved to encompass any immigrant who entered the United States illegally, whether that was by foot, cars, or any other method of transportation. In 1954, the term reappeared with the introduction of “Operation Wetback” by the US government. Although “Operation Wetback” was meant to fix the recent increase in people entering the country illegally by deporting anyone who looked like an “illegal alien,” Mexicans once again became the primary focus. The program executed its goal by partnering with the police, and had them …show more content…
It evokes a connotation far more degrading than its seven individual letters can prove. Just like we learned from the “N-Word,” this word can hold different meanings to different people; some people see it as an insult, and others simply view it as a description for the common immigrant experience. Personally, I strongly believe that when one chooses to refer to an immigrant by “wetback,” they simultaneously strip the person of their humanity and identity, mocking the journey many immigrants, including my parents, struggled with as their only way of seeking the opportunities they never had in their native countries. Each time the word is used, it carries with it the long historical thread of racial discrimination used in “Operation Wetback.” This is a term deserving of being spoken about more often in the rhetoric of race, because it is used to divide people by marking specific groups as the “other.” Loosely using words we do not have recognition of is a problem we can fix with more public awareness of where they came from through a conversation about race; a conversation that may seem daunting, but that has the ability to teach profound lessons of the way our society