Mexican Immigration History

The United States is made up of two different types of immigrants: those who are born on U.S. soil and those who travel to settle here. However, despite whether one is born in the United States or not for most their lineage runs back to other countries. It is evident that a majority of the U.S. first immigration wave was around the late 1800’s to the 1920’s. This was a time in which many immigrants where leaving their countries due to different reasons and finding prosperity in the U.S. In the book 97 Orchards: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement (97 Orchard) by Jane Ziegelman she explores and paints the history of five different immigrant families. The book goes into great detail sharing stories of daily

“Race, Expansion, and the Mexican War” and “Anglo-Saxons and Mexicans” by Horsman illustrates a causal effect regarding the treatment of Mexicans during the period of the early United States. The events from “Anglo-Saxons and Mexicans” show the ideologies regarding Mexicans that were present at the time. The actions that resulted from the ideologies are found in “Race, Expansion, and the Mexican War”.

How would you discuss the worldviews and value systems of Indigenous peoples prior to European contact/invasion? How did these worldviews impact all aspects of life (science, agriculture, language, spirituality, etc.) for indigenous peoples?

Many Mexican Americans have been able to accomplish their own versions of the American dream by attending a 4-year college, owning businesses, and taking on political and public service careers. However, Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants continue to face the hardships that their ancestors went through in the 20th century. The ethnic Mexican experience in the United States has been a difficult one for Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans of the first generation. Two key factors that continue to shape the lives of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants are labor laws and the citizenship process. Focusing on the research, statistics, and information provided by Mai Ngai “The Architecture of Race in American Immigration”, Natalia Molina’s, “In a Race All Their Own": The Quest to Make Mexicans Ineligible for U.S. Citizenship”, and George J. Sanchez, “Becoming Mexican American” will provide the cause and effect of labor laws and citizenship laws that made an impact on the lives of Mexicans during the 20th century.

Hispanics have been immigrating to America since the beginning of the Spanish Colonial era. Up until the 1920’s Mexican Americans have boomed in rural places in america. The 1920’s was meeting the beginning of a renaissance, a better promised life for both native americans as well as immigrants. Businesses were booming, wages were higher, and the industry was creating a bright future for America. However, Mexican Americans continued to face hardships as well as few successes leading up to the 1920’s. Whether these were Native born Americans with a Hispanic background or newly immigrated Mexicans, Mexican Americans faced the hardship of poverty, discrimination, segregation, and struggles during the 1920’s.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” That statement holds strong for immigrants in America. Equal access to opportunities allows immigrants to achieve the American dream. Their success correlates with America’s success because of the contributions immigrants provide to America. Unfortunately, the current immigration policy in America denies many immigrants the American dream. It is crucial to understand the historical context of immigration in America. Initially, most immigrants were from Europe and were not restricted by any immigration laws. Now, most immigrants come from Latin America but are restricted to severe immigration laws. The Latino/a community is one of the most

California’s history continues to tell us that migration creates huge diversity. Many people came and continue to come to California for the opportunities and most importantly, because California has become a place where dreams can come true. Since the 1840s massive waves of people from all over began to come to California specfically because of the discovery of gold. People from the east coast began to make their way over to California because of the mere possibilities that they may get lucky and receive a fortune. Not only were people within in the United States migrating, but those even outside of these barriers came for the probabilities. We soon began to foster people from different backgrounds and ethnicities. We fast forward, closer

While it may be true Mexican skills can be utilized to their fullest potential somewhere else, maybe even on a country with the same language, that country may not only be far away, but also harder to get to. They not only take into account where their skill will be better utilized, but also family reunification. As Massey explained the Economic of labor migration theory; where a decision is made by multiple family members rather than one. Immigrants many of the times seek family reunification. For example, if a person decides to immigrate to another country, it would be easier to seek the country where he has family assistance. If they have family members, or even members of their community on the US, rather than South America, it is more

Coming from a life of poverty and despair would cause anyone to search for a better life; a life in which there is the belief that all of your dreams can come true. This is the belief that many Mexican immigrants had about “El Norte,” they believed that the north would provide them with the opportunity that their life in Mexico had not. Many Immigrants believed that the United States was “the land of opportunity,” a place to find a successful job and live out the life that one only dreamt about living. The North was an open paradise for the immigrants. They were told by the people who had already ventured to the north that the United States was a “simple life, in which one could live

Mexican immigration has been uprising ever since WW2. mexican immigration caused a lot of mexicans from mexico to come to america to find safer healthier lives. There are a lot of push and pull factors for mexicans coming to america.

Mexican culture dates far back as the 13th century. This is when the Aztecs were prevalent in northern mexico. Aztecs were a people who were all about war and honor. They made many enemies going to war with smaller tribes and brutally killed their enemies. In the 16th century the Aztecs Empire crumbled due to the invasion led by Hernan Cortez. Disease, superior weapons, and aid of the Aztec’s enemies were all contributing factors to the Aztecs downfall. Fast forward September 16th 1810 when Mexico gained its independence from Spain Mexico's identity started to develop. Mexican culture is defined by many things, its food, its language, its clothing, its art. However, There is one aspect that defines Mexican culture and that is family life. Mexicans have a very rich family life that defines the culture. The way that family is organized and the way each member acts can be traced back to the very beginning. It's a mixture of the indigenous peoples culture as well as the Spaniards culture. The indigenous peoples pass on their ideas of honor and machismo and the Spaniards pass on their ideas of catholicism, and family value and structure. I fit into this because I grew up on these ideas and my family still practices some of these ideas today.

In our modern society, all countries have fused with other cultures through immigration, but the United States is undoubtedly the top leader, with 45.8 million immigrants of which 26% are illegally residing in this country. From 1942 to 1964 the United States and Mexico signed an agreement that allowed millions of Mexicans to come to the United States to work for a certain period of time. They focused mainly on agricultural labor. This was the Bracero Program and it surged on the idea that World War II would bring labor shortages to low paying agricultural jobs in the United States. In desperate need for work, braceros were willing to take the most backbreaking jobs, but some of the agreements of this program were not met as expected.

In the Preface of Major Problems in Mexican American History Zaragosa Vargas writes, "Nearly two thirds of Latinos in the United States are of Mexican descent, or Chicanos- a term of self definition that emerged during the 1960's and early 1970s civil rights movement. Chicanos reside mainly in the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. Their history begins in the precolonial Spanish era, and they share a rich mestizo cultural heritage of Spanish, Indian, and African origins. The Chicanos' past is underscored by conquest of the present-day American Southwest first by the Spanish and then by the United States following the Mexican American War" (xv). When one thinks of a Chicano one thinks of the Mayans and Aztecs, the conquests,

Some of the very first Mexican’s migrated to the United States in the early 1900’s during Mexico’s Revolution. The Mexican Revolution began in 1910 and lasted until 1921. The United States kept out of the revolution although it did supply Mexico with weapons. Mexico was full of chaos, and there was no law or order within the country. Many early Mexicans left due to this factor, and went to the United States in search for a better life. When the United States entered WWI in 1917, there was a search for unskilled workers. During this time the U.S. was very welcoming and friendly to Mexican immigrants. But, when the United States was no longer in need of the Mexican workers they deported them back to Mexico. The U.S. sent mixed signals to the Mexican immigrants like this all the time. It was believed in the U.S. by governing officials that what may be necessary and beneficial at one point in time, may not be so at another. And, they acted accordingly to this fact.

Throughout the history of the United States immigration has become apart of our country’s fabric which, began centuries ago. Only to become a hot topic in the US in recent years with its primary focus being illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is when people enter a country without government permission. As of 2008 the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that there are 11 million illegal immigrants in the US which is down from 2007‘s 12.5 million people. Although the Center for Immigration Studies estimates are very different from other estimates that range from 7 to 20 million. While the Pew Hispanic Center estimated in March of 2009 there are 11.1 million illegal immigrants and that number is from March 2007’s peak of 12