The California Museum in Sacramento is preparing a bilingual exhibition that revisits a major moment in U.S. migration history through research, family testimony, and public history.
Opening on August 13 and running through January 10, 2027, Help Wanted / Leave Now: "Operation Wetback" & the Revolving Door of Mass Deportation explores the 1954 deportation campaign that shaped the lives of many Mexican immigrants and Mexican-American families.
The project brings together historian Juan Garcia, professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, along with labor rights activist Dolores Huerta and other historians. Garcia's own family history and decades of research form a central part of the exhibition, adding a personal lens to a broader historical narrative.
By combining scholarship and lived experience, the museum aims to create a space for reflection, education, and cultural understanding. The exhibition also highlights how museums can preserve memory while making complex history accessible to new audiences. In the future, projects like this may help deepen public dialogue through inclusive storytelling and shared heritage.
