Donald Trump has been upholding President Eisenhower’s “Operation Wetback” as the precedent for his own mass deportation program. Historians and commentators though have been quick to caveat Trump’s claims with some reality: Ike’s plan was brutal and cruel. Stephen Colbert took the opportunity to inform his audience about some of the reasons why “Operation Wetback” supporters may want to stay their enthusiasm for a moment.
“I did some research,” said Colbert. “Eisenhower did deport over a million Mexicans. It was a little program the United States government actually called ‘Operation Wetback.’ So, you might want to update that button to, ‘I like Ike… with significant reservations.'”
Watch Colbert’s segment below.
For more on the truth of the brutality of “Operation Wetback,” read the article from the Washington Post titled: “Donald Trump’s ‘humane’ 1950s model for deportation, ‘Operation Wetback’, was anything but.“
