Mexicans and MexicanAmericans in the 20th Century
From Migrant Laborers to Permanent
Aliens and Citizens
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Central Analytical Questions
• Why after 1900 did
Mexicans dramatically
increase their bordercrossing activities to the
United States?
• How did U.S. immigration
policies affect Mexican
border-crossing activities?
• What were the long term
effects of a permanent and
growing Mexican
population in the U.S.?
Southern Arizona Dessert
How did U.S. immigration policies
influence Mexican border-crossing?
• Prior to 1917, U.S. immigration officials were not
primarily concerned about Mexican migration at the
southern border
• Why not? Because they were more concerned about illegal
Chinese immigration due to Chinese Exclusion
• Immigration Act of 1917 put restrictions on all immigrants
 Literacy Tests
 Medical Exams
 Head Tax
 Public Charge Evaluations
 But exempted Mexicans until 1921
How did U.S. immigration policies
influence Mexican border-crossing?
•
After 1921, Mexicans experience new
procedures at El Paso border
 Procedures relate to Medical
Examination
• Fumigation, delousing, and
vaccinations
• Medical exam involves placement
in a special room
• 1st Class and Second Class
migrants were separated-only
second class examined
• Some migrants were forced to
bathe, their clothes washed and
dried
• Literacy tests also only applied to
second class travelers
• Head tax was $8.00
Border Inspection, 1924
How did U.S. immigration policies
influence Mexican border-crossing?
• Immigration Act of 1921
 Established first quota on number of people eligible to immigrate
to the U.S. from the Eastern Hemisphere
 Did not apply to Western Hemisphere immigration
How did U.S. immigration policies
influence Mexican border-crossing?
• Immigration Act of 1924 (The National Origins Act)
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Toughened quota on Eastern Hemisphere
Tougher quota does not apply to Western Hemisphere
Adds a $10 fee to secure a visa prior to departure
Adds first border patrol, which only operates at Ports of entry
But it is first effort by US to rigorously police its border
• Impact of 1924 law
 Higher fees reduce legal immigration by nearly 60%, from 90K per year at
El Paso to 32K
 Tougher policing at Ports of Entry reduced the frequency with which
migrants practiced a cyclical movement, thus helping to foster permanent
residency
 This was an unintended consequence of the new law
General Features of the Migration
• In the 20th century, Mexicans became immigrants to the United States
• By the end of the century, Mexicans became the newest and largest
immigrant group in American history
• Generally, their migration included three types of persons:
 The temporary worker or bracero
 The legal immigrant
 The undocumented or “illegal” immigrant
• About these three groups were can note they migrate in very large
numbers and have low rates of naturalization and high return rates (est.
56%)
• The typical immigrant was male (>90%), a young male, a married
male, or a male with a large family
Why after 1900 did Mexicans dramatically increase
their border-crossing activities to the United States?
• Push and Pull Factors
 Push: those variables which occur within the
country of origin that drive people from their
homes
 Pull: those variables which occur within the
receiving country that draw people to this place
and not some other place
Why after 1900 did Mexicans dramatically increase
their border-crossing activities to the United States?
• Push Factors
 Unsettled economic conditions
• Population movement to cities followed a growing rural crisis:
land monopolization led to a decline in the independent
peasantry
• Tenant farming and sharecropping followed but led to greater
economic debt and rebellion
• Mexicans began migrating to escape starvation:. 25K to US
1900 to 1910
 Revolution in 1910
• Between 1910 and 1920, 170K migrate
• Between 1920 and 1930, 500k migrate
Why after 1900 did Mexicans dramatically increase
their border-crossing activities to the United States?
• Push Factors
 Dramatic population growth between 1950-1980
• Mexican version of baby boom
• Mexico's population increased from 30M to 70M
 Collapse of oil prices in the 1980s
• Devastated Mexican economy
• Made an already bad situation of high poverty and
unemployment even worse
 NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement (1993-Present)
• Devastating Mexican Industrial and Agricultural producers
(see next slide)
• Causes massive new movements of farmers to urban areas in
Mexico and to US
NAFTA’s Impact on Mexico
Why after 1900 did Mexicans dramatically increase
their border-crossing activities to the United States?
•
Pull Factors
 Economic opportunity related to dramatic expansion of the Southwestern
economy
 A rapid expansion occurred because of Federal intervention throughout
West
• Newlands Act (The National Reclamation Act of 1902)
• Ensured an adequate water supply for the arid region
• Water made for a tremendous agricultural expansion in the Southwest
 California's Imperial/San Joaquin valleys:fruit/vegetable in
Lower Rio Grande Valley: Cotton Salt River Valley, Arizona:
Cotton in Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado sugar beet fields
• Public lands policy: Made available to private interests
Why after 1900 did Mexicans dramatically increase
their border-crossing activities to the United States?
•
Pull Factors
 State supported labor recruitment: bracero program
• A temporary contract labor system used for agricultural workers
 Lasted from 1942-1967
 4M Mexicans are temporary employees
 During War never more than 63K employed
 Peak years were mid-1950s when >400K employed
 By 1967, <8K employed
 Conducted by treaty with Mexico
 Government paid transport, medical care, and guaranteed the
prevailing wage
 Workers had contracts, savings accounts, and the protection of
the Government of Mexico
 Emergence of the “Fast Food Nation” and growth of service sector since
1960
Why after 1900 did Mexicans dramatically increase
their border-crossing activities to the United States?
•
Pull Factors
 Fast-Food Nation, a closer look shows the relationship of union-breaking
with use of low-paid immigrant workers
• McDonald(ization) of work
 30K restaurants world wide today
 1M hires per year
 Nation’s largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes; 2nd largest purchaser of
chicken
 World’s largest owner retail property
 World’s biggest advertiser
 Employs 3.5M (mostly young people, but includes 1M migrants), making
America’s largest low wage force
• Food Supply Industry
 Beef: Regulated until 1970, then Reagan era deregulation produced Oligopoly in
which four firms control 84% of market (Conasia, IBP, Excel, and National Beef)
 Chicken: In 2000, 8 chicken processors control 66% of market, mostly in south
 These industries employ largely illiterate Mexican undocumented workers and
operate with a 100% turnover rate, pay a flat $9 per hour, without other benefits,
and have a 33% injury rate because of ever increasing throughput practices
Consequences of Push and Pull: 1900-1930
•
Migration created expanded Mexican colonies North of the border: A major
demographic achievement
 Between 1900 and 1930, 1.5M Mexicans migrated North, about 10% of the Total
Mexican population
 Key border crossing: At El Paso-Juarez crossing, recently connected by railroad to the
Sonora interior
• 60% of migrants to Los Angeles come from or through El Paso
•
•
Mexicans became an urban phenomena, despite deportations
Three major cities with major Mexican populations generated
 Los Angeles, Ca.
• Sonora Town replaced by East Los Angeles (but not a barrio, Mexicans live in mixed
communities on East Side such as Boyle Heights and Belvedere (30K)
• Mexican Population in L.A.
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
1900 = 5% of pop. (5K)
1930 = 20% of pop. (208K)
1990 = Nearly 1M Mexican Americans in LA
 San Antonio, Tx.
• 41,500 in 1920
 El Paso, Tx.
• 40,000 in 1920
Consequences of Push and Pull: 1900-1930
•
Rise of permanent residence produced attendant adaptations in family,
religious practices, entertainment, and consumer behavior, in short a new
collective identity
 Patronize Mexican businesses
 Attend religious services hence Maintain Spanish language persistence. Attend
religious festivals celebrate Mexican holidays
 They have their own radio stations to listen to news from Mexico
 Site of continuous migration
 Not a site for segregation by race, but housing conditions were poor, disease and
infant mortality were higher
 Hence distinctive communities within 200 miles of the Mexican border, its
proximity plays a key role in influencing identity so long as Spanish language and
customs flourish
 Site for an acculturation process.
• Mexicans adopt some Anglo sports: Baseball, Basketball in city schools
Consequences of Push and Pull:
Contemporary Moment
•
Mexican became the largest sending nation in the world
 Immigration Act of 1965 created a special treatment for Mexico and Canada
• They were allowed to send 40K immigrants to US per year compared to 20K per other
countries
• If Canada sends less than 40K per year, Mexico gets the difference
 After 1965, on average Mexican sent more immigrants to U.S. than all the
rest of Latin America combined
 In the 1970s, more than 600K to U.S.
 In the 1980s, more than 700K to U.S.
 The U.S. also took in over 400K in amnesty of illegal immigrants
 That means in the 1980s, more than 1M Mexicans to U.S.
 According to the 1990 Census, one out of five immigrants living in the
United States was Mexican-born
 An even with all this migration, Mexico still had a backlog of requests to
migrate to the U.S. of over 300K by the 1980s
Consequences of Push and Pull:
Contemporary Moment
•
Mexican became the largest sending nation in the world
 Heavy migration added dramatically to the diversity of American society
 Spanish speaking became America's number two language in 1970
• An estimated 35% of Mexican households spoke Spanish at home according to a 1976
study
• In 2003, Latinos became the country's largest minority group, at 42.7
million (66% Mexican), and as the fastest-growing segment of the
population, with a 3.3% growth rate
• Census Bureau data show Latino population growth is driven more by
births than by immigration
 Following 1990 economic depression in California, immigrants
began to spread out across the U.S.
Density of Latino/as 1980
Census
Percentage of Latino/as In
the United States, 1990
Latinos Percentage Change by State,
1900-1999
Death on the Border: Contemporary
Risks of Border Crossing
•
Rise of the Devil’s Highway
since 2000
 Efforts to tighten security at
the border have resulted in
countless personal tragedies
 Below, body bags overflow
an Arizona public morgue
Border Crossing Deaths
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Fencing Out the Mexicans?
• Under the Clinton and
Bush Administrations,
Congress has funded
beefed up security at the
Mexican border
• New security includes
more border patrol,
motion sensors, satellite
imaging, and construction
of a wall under “Operation
Gatekeeper”
Virtual Fence
The "virtual fence" pilot project (Photo By David Sanders, AP)
• The pilot virtual fence
included 9 mobile
towers, radar, cameras,
and vehicles retrofitted
with laptops and
satellite phones or
handheld devices
• They were to be linked
to a near-real-time,
map-like projection of
the frontier agents could
use to track targets and
direct law enforcement
resources
Summary on Recent Immigration
• Given the push and pull
factors shaping Mexican
immigration to the U.S., it
is doubtful the US will
succeed in stopping the
flow of workers
• Neither US, nor Mexican
gov’t have incentive to
control the migration
 Mexico’s 2nd largest source
of foreign exchange comes
from the $6B Mexicans
send home from the US
 American labor needs have
always trumped restriction
Gold Mine at El Paso, Texas,
where 200 Mexican miners
once worked
What were the long term effects of a permanent and
growing Mexican population in the U.S.?
• Options for the Mexican American Community
 Los Angeles: A Case Study
• Heavy Mexican immigration in 1920s produced two social
responses
 By White L.A., which demanded assimilation
 By the L.A. Mexican Consulate, which promoted Mexican
nationalism
• Deportation disrupted L.A. Mexican community in 1930s
• Not until late 1930s and 1940s that L.A. Mexican communities
generate local leadership and put forward own definition of a
local identity
 What were the options?
Options
• Mexican Americans
Outside California
 LULAC(League of
United Latin American
Citizens)
• Corpus Christi, TX
• “Mexican in cultural
and social activities,
American in philosophy
and politics”
• Embrace duality of
ethnic life
• L.A. Mexican American
Responses Pre-WWII
 Mexican American
Movement (MAM)
• 2nd generation high school
and college students
publish Mexican Voice
• Break with parents on
loyalty to Mexican state
• Argument for education
failed to address reality of
working class Mexican
youth (53% and 45%
dropout rates)
• In 1940s, alienated
Mexican American youth
join Zoot Suit movement
Zoot Suit
• Clothing worn out to
night clubs and Jazz
clubs
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Wide at knee
Pegged at cuff
High waisted
Cocky attitude
Shows African
American influence
 Source of conflict with
parents
Zoot Suit Riots, 1943
• Sailors, Marines, and
Soldiers attack Zoot
Suiters and Mexican
Communities, June 3-10,
1943
 Fights begin in downtown
L.A.
 Fights shift to East L.A.
 Police arrest Pachucos
 Governor’s Investigation
blamed riots on media and
police racism
Post WW II Leadership
• Ed Roybal, 1916-2005
 First Mexican
American elected to
the L.A. City Council,
1949 from East L.A.
by ethnic coalition
 Key concerns: street
lights, better housing
and increased restraints
on police
 Elected to Congress,
1962
Ed Roybal
Latino Mayor of Los Angeles
• Elected by a coalition
of west side Jewish
liberals and east side
Hispanics, plus
organized labor in
2005
• Posed to run for reelection in 2009
• Possible Governor
ambitions
Antonio Villaraigosa
Conclusions
• Increasingly important in politics of region
• Forefront of unionization movement in
southwest
• Significant economic mobility for middle
class
• Hence, future is looking very bright for
Mexican population of Southwest