The 1917 Bath Riots represent an early organized border protest against discriminatory U.S. immigration delousing policies targeting Mexicans.
Key Facts
- Dates of riots
- January 28–30, 1917
- Location
- Santa Fe Street Bridge, El Paso–Juárez border
- Riot instigator
- Carmelita Torres
- Duration of disinfection policy
- Continued for approximately 40 years after riots
- Cause of protest
- Mandatory delousing baths and vaccinations for Mexicans
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
New U.S. immigration policies at the El Paso–Juárez Immigration and Naturalization Service office required Mexicans crossing the border to undergo delousing baths with kerosene and receive vaccinations. Reports that nude photographs were being taken of women bathers, combined with fear of fire from the kerosene, created deep resentment among border crossers.
On January 28, 1917, Carmelita Torres, a domestic worker crossing the border, refused to submit to the delousing procedure and demanded a refund of her transport fare. When denied, she rallied fellow riders to join her resistance. The resulting unrest at the Santa Fe Street Bridge lasted three days, drawing crowds and disrupting border operations.
After three days the immediate disorder subsided without producing any formal policy change. The mandatory disinfection of Mexicans at the U.S. border continued for roughly forty years. The riots are nonetheless recognized as an early instance of organized Mexican resistance to degrading U.S. border enforcement practices.
Political Outcome
Riots subsided after three days with no policy change; delousing requirements for Mexicans at U.S. border continued for approximately forty years.