A historical look at Watsonville’s legacy of deportation and resilience, as new threats loom and local leadership rises to protect its immigrant communities.
Watsonville, California, bears a history marked by resilience and struggle, particularly for its immigrant communities. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the Mexican Repatriation Act, waves of anti-immigrant policies have shaped the lives of Watsonville’s Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and Mexican populations. While these communities have repeatedly been scapegoated, displaced, and forced into cycles of precarity, today’s leadership reflects a growing recognition of their contributions, hinting at a hopeful future. However, as new threats of mass deportation under a renewed Trump administration loom, Watsonville’s history is a critical reminder of both the human costs of exclusionary policies and the strength of community solidarity.
The Roots of Exclusion: Early Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese Immigrants
The story of immigrant labor in Watsonville begins with Chinese workers in the late 19th century, who arrived to support California’s railroads and agriculture. Despite their contributions, Chinese laborers were met with hostility and legislative exclusion, epitomized by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This law not only halted Chinese immigration but also sanctioned discriminatory treatment against those already residing in the U.S., rendering their presence precarious and subject to the threat of deportation.
Filipino workers followed in the early 20th century, migrating as U.S. nationals due to the Philippines’ status as an American colony. However, despite their technical legal standing, Filipinos faced significant racial violence, especially during the Great Depression, when tensions over jobs and wages led to anti-Filipino riots. In Watsonville, these tensions erupted into violence, showcasing the depth of animosity that Filipino workers faced even as they provided essential labor to the local economy.
Japanese immigrants in Watsonville and across California also faced systemic exclusion. The Alien Land Laws prevented Japanese farmers from owning land, and in 1942, Executive Order 9066 led to the forced internment of Japanese Americans. This sweeping measure disrupted families, dispossessed individuals of their property, and furthered a legacy of racialized fear and exclusion. For Japanese families in Watsonville, internment marked a profound rupture that left lasting scars on their community.
The Mexican Community and the Mexican Repatriation Act
Mexican immigrants have been integral to Watsonville’s economy, particularly in agriculture, yet they, too, have faced cycles of forced removals and exclusionary policies. The Mexican Repatriation Act of the 1930s authorized the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Mexicans and Mexican Americans, including U.S. citizens, under the justification of reducing public assistance burdens during the Great Depression. This campaign, part of a national wave of deportations, disproportionately impacted Watsonville and surrounding areas, uprooting families, disrupting communities, and reinforcing a pattern of treating Mexican laborers as disposable.
The Bracero Program, established during World War II, brought Mexican laborers into the U.S. to fill agricultural jobs left vacant by labor shortages. However, the treatment of Braceros often revealed deep-rooted prejudices. Upon arrival, Braceros were subjected to dehumanizing “cleaning” procedures. Workers were required to strip and undergo fumigation with DDT, a pesticide later banned due to its harmful health effects. This process, aimed at “sanitizing” workers, exemplified the U.S.’s view of Braceros as expendable laborers, whose dignity was disregarded despite their essential contributions. These practices left lasting scars, reminding us of the complex legacy of exploitation within the program.
In the 1950s, Operation Wetback targeted California’s agricultural regions, including Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley, where Mexican laborers were vital to the local economy. Pajaro Valley, home to generations of Mexican families, saw INS agents and local law enforcement conduct sweeping raids on fields, homes, and public spaces without warning.
Operation Wetback: Trauma and Community Disruption in Watsonville
Operation Wetback in 1954 marked a particularly harsh chapter in Watsonville’s history of deportations. In response to rising anti-immigrant sentiment, the U.S. government targeted Mexican laborers, conducting mass raids across agricultural regions. In Watsonville and neighboring counties, these raids instilled fear, often sweeping up legal residents and U.S. citizens who lacked proper documentation. Entire families were separated without warning, leaving agricultural operations critically short of labor and devastating the social fabric of local Mexican communities.
A farmworker from Watsonville recounted the trauma of these sudden raids: “They didn’t care who you were. If you looked Mexican, you were a target. We lived in fear, unsure if we’d be torn away from our homes.” This fear reverberated through Mexican communities, highlighting how racialized assumptions allowed for civil rights abuses on a massive scale. Operation Wetback’s brutal tactics left deep scars and contributed to a legacy of suspicion and exclusion that Mexican communities in California still contend with today.
The Role of Propaganda in Shaping Public Opinion
Throughout these cycles of exclusion and deportation, propaganda has played a central role in shaping public opinion and justifying harsh policies. As highlighted in documents on psychological operations, U.S. authorities often utilized specific propaganda techniques to depict immigrants as threats to economic and social stability. Rhetoric centered around immigrants as “illegal” or “undesirable” was used to garner public support for deportations, relying on name-calling, fear-mongering, and scapegoating tactics. This rhetoric not only fueled exclusionary policies but also created a hostile environment that allowed widespread civil rights abuses to go unchecked.
The Chicano community has long resisted these dehumanizing portrayals. Scholars in Chicano Studies analyze how terms like “wetback” or “illegal alien” are employed to reduce individuals to mere symbols of threat, disregarding their humanity and contributions. By challenging these labels, Chicano Studies aims to reshape the narrative, emphasizing the intrinsic worth and cultural contributions of Mexican and other Latino communities in the U.S..
The Present Challenge: Renewed Threats of Mass Deportations
Today, the specter of mass deportations has returned with the recent re-election of Donald Trump, who has promised to reinstitute large-scale deportation policies. Key figures in Trump’s administration, including Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary and Tom Homan as Border Czar, signal an intensified focus on immigration enforcement and border security. Trump’s past immigration policies, which included family separations and aggressive deportation efforts, suggest that Watsonville’s immigrant communities may once again be targeted.
Leaders in Watsonville and Santa Cruz County have vowed to protect immigrant families amid these threats. Local advocacy groups and organizations like Catholic Charities are actively preparing “Know Your Rights” campaigns to equip immigrant communities with legal knowledge and support. “We’re trying to educate people on their legal rights, so they can stand up for themselves and their families,” said a representative from Catholic Charities, underscoring the urgent need for community resilience and solidarity as potential raids loom once again.
A Beacon of Hope: Leadership Reflecting the Community
Despite these challenges, Watsonville’s leadership today reflects a hopeful shift. For the first time, Latino officials and advocates who understand the immigrant experience hold key positions in local government. This representation not only honors the city’s demographic reality but also signals a commitment to protecting and uplifting immigrant communities rather than marginalizing them. Leaders are working to enact policies that defend residents’ rights, provide resources for those affected by deportations, and promote a more inclusive vision of Watsonville’s future.
As Watsonville faces a renewed wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, its history serves as a testament to the resilience and strength of immigrant communities. While past deportation campaigns sought to erase these communities, their enduring presence and contributions are undeniable. By acknowledging and learning from this history, Watsonville’s leaders and residents alike are better prepared to stand together against new challenges, envisioning a future grounded in respect, dignity, and unity.
To close, let us remember the words of Chicana scholar Gloria Anzaldúa: “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds. Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them. A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place…but despite its threats, it has never held us back.”