Donald Trump often points to the 1950s-era immigration policies of then-President Dwight Eisenhower when discussing his plans for mass deportations of migrants.
Operation Wetback, Eisenhower’s military-style deportation operation targeting undocumented immigrants, whose name comes from an anti-Latino slur, has been an inspiration for the former president and current presidential candidate. “We’re rounding them up in a very humane way, a very nice way,” Trump told “60 Minutes” in 2015. When asked to elaborate, he referred to deportations under the Eisenhower administration.
