Mexican Migration to the United States of America.

Mexico – USA: BACKGROUND

• Napoleonic war ignites struggle for independence • Struggle lasts ten years• Treaty of Cordoba (1821)• Mexico: an independent state)

Mexican Colonization Law(1820 1830)

• Texas in 1820 – 4,000 Mexicans

• Solicited immigrants from USA

•American immigrants could receive a League & Labor of land if they…

Became Mexican citizens.Obeyed Mexican laws. Converted to Catholicism

•Slavery was illegal

Tensions lead to war – Independence

April 6, 1830 - the Mexican government forbids further American emigration to Texas.

1835 - October 9, the Battle of Goliad takes place and ends with a victory for Texas.

On December 11, the Seige of Bexar ends with the Texans capturing Santa Anna – Mexican president

Mexican/American Relations• Mexican American

War (1846 -48) • Set in motion by US

annexation of Texas • Fighting was one-

sided • Treaty of Guadalupe

Hidalgo (1848) • Mexico loses 40% of

territory• Mexicans living in

territory become U.S. citizens

• U.S. pays $15 million for territory acquired

U.S. Dominates North America

Caribbean Basin

The Great Depression High unemployment rates led to hostility

towards Mexican immigrantsDeportation – but situation is Mexico is

worse Migrant work camps established by U.S.

Farm Security AdministrationProvided necessitiesProtectionSense of community

Migration Continues despite legal prohibitions

Tensions Ethnic groups in U. S. react to growing

Mexican community in the citiesZoot Suit Riot in L.A. (1942)

World War II: Immigration from Mexico tolerated

Factories lit up to support war effortNeed: low-cost agricultural laborBracero – joint program between U.S. and

Mexico to contract laborers for these jobsPopular with farmers5 million Mexicans came as braceros

Once war ended, U.S. deported 4 million immigrants back to Mexico, againThis was a larger deportation than during the

Depression

lure of Jobs reignites immigration from Mexico

Bracero Program (1950-964) Mexicans continue their working relationship with US farmers.

Maquiladora program - Factories within 50 miles of U.S. border given tariff

preferences developed to curtail the job incentive for new

immigration Higher US wages continued to attract migrants

Immigration act of 1987 Intended to ensure that Mexican workers here were

legal Failure to close border led to increased immigration

Mexican Immigration Surges

Present – currently 20 million legal residents of Mexican heritage in U.S.1990s – more legal immigrants came from Mexico

than all European countries combinedIllegal immigration surges (10 million plus)

Mexican-Americans influence culture in USA Communication – UNAVISIONJobs in most professionsPublic office (Sonia Sotomayor – Supreme Court ) Projections: within two generations, over 25%

of the U.S. residents will be of Mexican origin – largest part Mexican

The Wage Comparison

The minimum wage in Mexico is about 57 cents an hour. About 12.5 times less than that in the USA.

This offers a huge incentive for immigrants to come here to work and send money home to their impoverished families.

Economic crisis in Mexico in 1994 exacerbated the wage differential.

Economic Crisis of 1994

Devaluation of the Mexican peso

Occurred on the watch of Mexican President Carlos Salinas Gortari

Insurgent rebellion in Chipas shook the nation

Lack of ForesightDe Gortari

launched a high spending splurge

Lax banking surrounded the government loan

20 % over specualation of the Peso

Recovery/AidNAFTA almost derailed

$50 billion dollars in loans/aid issued – mostly from the U. S.

Loans quickly repaid, but recovery difficult

Wages fell sharply

Effects on Population Movement

Migration to the U.S. (much of it illegal) increased

Family connections channeled new migrants

The more Mexican people that migrate, the larger the network becomes

Many Mexican women migrate after their husbands have established themselves n the U.S.

Effects on Population Movement: Women

Female migration to the United States increasedRapidly catching up with the number of male

migrantsLow paying jobs (seamstress, maids)

ProstitutionU.S. role dates back to prohibitionRelatively high-paying - $100 per day) Violence remains a concern

Mexican Migration: What is Unique?

While the United States is a nation of immigrants, we have never has one foreign nationality come in so rapidly and in such numbers

Potential to change U.S. culture and institutions is unprecedented