BW - EP126—005: April 1954—Illegal Immigrant Fears

Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting

In 1954, CBS Radio’s documentary unit presented a special feature series on a variety of hot-button topics. On April 11th, illegal Immigration from Mexico was their focus. Today, the term Wetback is rightfully one of derision and insult. It might have privately been considered the same in 1954, but in the mainstream it was used to describe anyone who swam into the US from across the Rio Grande River. At the height of Red Scare Mania, the fear was a communist spy could pose as a Mexican migrant. The next day in New York City, Bill Haley and the Comets recorded the ground-breaking single, “Rock Around The Clock.”