OPERATION WETBACK.
Those apprehended were often deported without opportunity to recover their property in the US or contact family and were stranded without food or employment when they entered Mexico.[48] Deported Mexicans faced extreme conditions and were sometimes left in the desert; 88 deported workers died in 112 degree heat in July 1955.[49] Another issue was repeat border crossings by those who had been previously deported; from 1960-1961, repeaters accounted for 20% of the total deportees.[50] Certain U.S. Border Patrol agents practiced shaving heads to mark repeat offenders who would attempt to reenter the United States. There were also reports of beating and jailing illegal immigrants before deporting them.[51] While most complaints concerning deportation were undocumented, there were over 11,000 formal complaints from documented bracero workers from 1954 -1964.[52] Ultimately, with the lack of evidence and documentation concerning the treatment of laborers in Operation Wetback, the level of mistreatment remains unclear and unknown.
