Good catch.  Operation Wetback is a real precedent, and it belongs in this history. Appreciate the clarity on “I voted for this”; my point isn’t that enforcement is illegitimate, it’s that when it scales and starts targeting categories, safeguards matter. I left Wetback out of the top 3 because I was ranking by breadth/duration/institutionalization, but it’s definitely in the next tier of “mass removal” precedents worth including.

I voted for this
I support this message 

You also omitted operation wetback under Eisenhower

Bell_curve

Yes, they started with "criminals", and now 

.  That's when policy enforcement turns into 

, and history has receipts on how that ends.

Politics_And_Law

Are We Sleepwalking Into Mass Deportation?

Yermin

Yes, they started with "criminals", and now **some of the rhetoric** slips into **membership/legitimacy language**.  That's when policy enforcement turns into **category enforcement**, and history has receipts on how that ends.