In 1916, the US began forcing Mexicans that crossed the border to bathe in a mix of kerosene and vinegar. A US immigration officer talks to Mexicans in El Paso, Texas, 1916. El Paso was considered to have the ideal dry, warm climate to combat tuberculosis, and so, multiple sanatoriums were built in the city. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs a result, Mexicans and Mexican Americans who lived along the border developed a deep fear of the baths, Levya said. In total, the government is thought to have bathed 127,123 Mexicans at the bridge between Juárez and El Paso.

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Persons: —, Thomas Calloway Lea Jr, B.J, Lloyd, Bettmann, Carmelita Torres, Torres, PhotoQuest, Lea, David Romo, Tom Lea, Dr, Yolanda Chavez Levya, Levya, Leonard Nadel, Levya's, Torres –, Gerhard Peters, Peters Organizations: Service, Public Health, Riots, Mexican, Labor, Ku Klux Klan, Tom Lea Institute, The University of Texas, US, El, Public Service Health, Hidalgo Processing Center, Archives Center, National Museum of, Smithsonian, US Public Health Service Locations: Mexico, United States, El Paso , Texas, El Paso, Mexican, Hidalgo, Texas, East, Southeast Asia, Juárez, El Paso ., German, Nuremberg