Speech #830199495

Speaker. I have today introduced two bills. each of which I believe to be essential legislation for enactment during the current Congress if the Government is successful to repel what is virtually an invasion of the country by Mexican wetbacks. As you know. in the past several years thousands of Mexican nationals have entered the United States for farm employment in accordance with the provisions of the Migrant Labor Agreement of 1951. revised. extended. and improved in 1954. between this country and Mexico. However. many thousands of illegal migrants have swarmed into the United States without complying with any of the controlled conditions established and supervised under the migrantlabor agreement. These aliens are commonly denominated wetbacks since almost all make their entry by crossing the Rio Grande. The term has stuck despite the actual fact that most of them effect their crossings without wetting their backs at all. The wetback constitutes the most serious enforcement problem which faces the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice. The Attorney General has recently pointed out that 85 percent of the deportations effected in the last fiscal year were accomplished at the Mexican border. and over 98 percent of the 885.391 voluntary departures during the same period occurred at that border. Particularly significant with respect to the wetback problem are three alarming considerations. First. the volume of the wetback traffic has been increasing in almost Incredible proportions.