How ICE insulted 28 Mexican immigrants who died in a 1948 plane crash

It’s one of the saddest hit songs to grace American music: “Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).”

The 1948 Woody Guthrie composition documented a plane crash that killed all 32 people on board in Los Gatos Canyon near the Central Valley town of Coalinga on Jan. 28 of that year. Twenty-eight of the victims were Mexicans being forced back home — some entered the country without papers, some were guest workers whose stints were over — accompanied by the immigration agent charged with making sure they got there, much like the deportation flights of today.

The Associated Press reported that newspapers published across the country the following day — including The Times — listed the names of the Southern California crew on board and the migra man, Frank E. Chaffin of Berkeley.

The Mexicans? The story deemed them “deportees.” They were buried in a mass grave at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno under a bronze marker that read: “28 Mexican citizens who died in an airplane accident.” The American government never even bothered to tell their family members. Many wondered what happened to their loved ones for decades.

Guthrie heard the AP report over the radio and was so angered by how the press and government dismissed the deceased that he penned “Deportee.” With mournful chords and vivid lyrics, the working class troubadour attacked an American society that that simultaneously let crops rot “in their creosote dumps” and treated the migrants who picked them “like rustlers, like outlaws, like thieves.”

It’s been covered by some of this country’s greatest musicians — I’m talking Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson (my favorite version is by folk-rock heroes The Byrds).

Even with “Deportee,” this story had fallen out of public consciousness over the decades. Until January, when ICE dredged it up to once again insult the memory of the lost Mexican immigrants.

ICE’s inexplicable recap

On Jan. 28, the social media accounts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement commemorated Chaffin’s death and only his. The caption alongside a grainy black and white photo of him read: “The plane he was on to deport 28 illegal Mexican aliens caught fire and crashed killing all onboard.”

ICE’s unnecessarily inflammatory language not only was ahistorical, but also it didn’t even match up with its own official account. The agency’s Wall of Honor, which commemorates the lives of employees who died in the line of duty, described the migrants who died alongside Chaffin as “Mexican nationals.”

Such warping of the past isn’t accidental but rather part of a long con by the Trump administration to justify its agenda. In an administration that knows no lows, dismissing the Mexican victims of the Los Gatos Canyon disaster as “illegal Mexican aliens” was particularly egregious.

Members of a group of 500 young Mexicans arrive to alleviate the harvest labor shortage in Stockton on Sept. 29, 1942.

(Ernest King / Associated Press)

‘It’s disrespectful, it’s dehumanizing, it’s ICE’

I called up Mike Rodriguez, an ethnic studies teacher in Santa Ana who found out in 2015 that his paternal aunt, María Rodríguez Santana, was on that doomed plane.

“First thing I thought was, ‘Well that’s the United States,’” Rodriguez said of ICE’s social media post. “They’re doing the same thing that the government tried to do in 1948 by erasing them.”

He added that la migra didn’t even bother to list the names of the American crew that died, either. “It’s disrespectful, it’s dehumanizing, it’s ICE,” he said.

But Rodriguez takes solace in knowing he and others are doing their part to make sure people know the full story. He regularly speaks about the tragedy and visited both the site of the crash and Holy Cross Cemetery, where a plaque with all of the victims’ names was erected in 2013.

Tim Z. Hernandez, a University of Texas El Paso professor who has spent much of his career trying to track down descendants, interviewed Rodriguez and his uncle for a forthcoming documentary and also featured their story in the 2024 book”They Call You Back: A Lost History, A Search, A Memoir.” The two appeared at an event last year at the Untold Story bookstore in Anaheim, where Rodriguez sung “Deportee” while his son played guitar. He added extra lyrics to honor his Tía María and Hernandez.

“Thankfully, we have truth tellers like Woody Guthrie and Tim,” Rodriguez said. “And I remember what Woody sang — ‘All you fascists bound to lose.’ And that’s the way this is administration is, trying to strip away our constitutional rights. But their day will come.”

Today’s top stories

Mayor Karen Bass listens as City Councilmember Nithya Raman addresses supporters at a reelection rally in Hazeltine Park in Sherman Oaks in February 2024.

(Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Nithya Raman’s surprise mayoral bid

• Mayor Karen Bass helped Nithya Raman win reelection in 2024. Now Raman wants to unseat her. Some called it a betrayal of Shakespearean proportions.
• Raman stunned the L.A. political world in 2020 when she unseated Councilmember David Ryu. Now, she wants to do it again.

Epstein’s efforts to win over Hollywood

• Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein purchased a $15,000 ticket for Hollywood publicist Peggy Siegal to attend a 2013 Motion Picture and Television Fund gala, according to bank statements and emails between Epstein’s team and the MPTF reviewed by The Times.
• The documents provide a glimpse into Epstein’s efforts to maintain ties with influential figures in Hollywood and beyond after he was convicted for soliciting prostitution in 2008.
• Representatives for the MPTF and Siegal did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Nancy Guthrie abduction

• As the investigation into the abduction of Nancy Guthrie entered its third week, officials said they cleared direct members of her family as possible suspects.
• With no sign of the 84-year-old, there are growing concerns about her welfare and questions about how long the investigation will drag on.
• Authorities are examining DNA evidence found on a glove discovered several miles away from Guthrie’s home. The glove matched those worn by a masked person seen outside the home.

Robert Duvall, acting legend known for intense roles, died at 95

• Duvall, a Hollywood veteran known for his roles in “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” died at 95 on Sundayk.
• When Duvall was floundering around in college, his father, a career Navy man who retired with the rank of rear admiral, told him to shape up — and start acting.
• “They figured I did skits around the house. They figured I had a calling, or whatever,” Duvall once told an interviewer.

What else is going on

• Jesse Jackson, one of the nation’s most powerful voices for Black Americans, died at 84.
• The first wave of nearly a week of rain hit Southern California. Snow is expected for Mammoth and Tahoe.
• More than 3,200 Los Angeles Unified School District employees could receive layoff notices under a proposal being considered by the Board of Education.
• Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, a new map finds.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new memoir reveals how he navigated between a financially struggling mother and a father who befriended the wealthy Getty family.
• Michael Silverblatt, the “genius” host of KCRW literary show “Bookworm,” died at 73.

Commentary and opinions

• Tom Steyer must figure out how to convince financially struggling Californians they can trust a billionaire to be their next governor, columnist George Skelton argues.
• Gaza remains a crisis of children’s mental health, guest contributor Nisreen Qawas writes.
• Experiments with natural gas pipelines are only a stalling tactic and profit grab that will prolong pollution, guest contributor Dan Esposito writes.

This morning’s must reads

Business

How Chipotle lost its sizzle

The Newport Beach-based Mexican chain Chipotle saw its same-store sales decline in 2025 for the first time since the company went public in 2006.

Feb. 12, 2026

More must reads

• The Olympic curling scandal threatens to forever alter the sport’s culture of trust.
• Here’s what happened when a reporter answered calls at the loneliest phone booth in the world in 1999.
• Teyana Taylor loves the debate over her “One Battle After Another” character.

For your downtime

The sunset as seen from Saddleback Butte State Park in the Antelope Valley.

(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• The great outdoors: Conquer these 3 desert hikes near L.A. before winter’s end
• Movies: Spice things up by seeing “Wuthering Heights,” which our reviewer called “a bold, filthy fantasy.”

Staying in

• Books: Read these novels which ask why a woman with a secret is always a threat to Western civilization
• Cooking: Here’s a recipe for Paella.
• Games: Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.

And finally... your photo of the day

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from L.A. Times staff photographer Myung J. Chun of a midcentury modern home in Palm Springs.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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