California Exhibition to Document One of the US’s Worst Deportation Campaigns
“Help Wanted / Leave Now” traces the infamous “Operation Wetback” implemented by Eisenhower in 1954 to expel undocumented Mexican workers.
Juan Garcia, a retired history professor from the University of Arizona, was born and raised in South Texas, belonging to a Mexican-American ranching family. At the age of six, his father unexpectedly left their trade and moved the family of nine to Chicago. The professor has dedicated his career to examining the political factors that shaped his family's experiences, as his mother, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, resided in the United States while her husband sought work elsewhere.
Portions of Garcia's research and family anecdotes will be showcased in an upcoming exhibition at Sacramento's California Museum, titled Help Wanted / Leave Now: "Operation Wetback" & the Revolving Door of Mass Deportation. The bilingual exhibit, in collaboration with historians and labor rights activist Dolores Huerta, focuses on "Operation Wetback," a notorious U.S. campaign aimed at deporting Mexican immigrants.
The term "Wetback" was an offensive term used to describe undocumented immigrants who may have entered the country via the Rio Grande. The exhibition is scheduled to open on August 13, 2025, and will be on display until January 10, 2027.
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