More than half of U.S. Latino adults worry any new mass deportations would target all Latinos regardless of legal status, a new Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo finds.
Why it matters: Former President Trump has promised mass deportations if he wins a second term, and past efforts have swept up U.S. citizens, creating generations of trauma.
By the numbers: 54% of Mexicans and Mexican Americans — the targets of mass deportations in the 20th Century — said they worried that any new mass deportation plan would target all Latinos, including U.S. citizens and lawful residents.
Catch up quick: Trump‘s plan to crack down on immigrants includes using a range of tools to deport millions of people, including obscure laws and military funds.
Flashback: State and local governments during the Great Depression “repatriation” pressured Mexicans and Mexican Americans to “return” to Mexico amid high unemployment in the U.S. and violent anti-Mexican sentiment. About a million people, most of whom were coerced, left.
- The Eisenhower-era “Operation Wetback” used military-style tactics to round up 1.3 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans across the country in the 1950s for the-then largest deportation operation in U.S. history. “Wetback” is a racial slur for Mexicans.
- Both mass deportations snatched up American citizens, including a future World War II hero and Holocaust survivor who had been racially profiled
The big picture: While a majority of respondents are fearful of deportations, they are increasingly in favor of more hardline positions on immigration as support for Donald Trump among Latinos grows, Ipsos pollster and senior vice president Chris Jackson tells Axios.ARTICLE HERE