Transcript Mexican Migration - Personal.psu.edu

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
immigrants
 Deportation – but situation is Mexico is worse
 Migrant work camps established by U.S. Farm Security
Administration
 Provided necessities
 Protection
 Sense of community
Migration Continues despite legal
prohibitions
 Tensions
 Ethnic groups in U. S. react to growing Mexican community
in the cities
 Zoot Suit Riot in L.A. (1942)
World War II: Immigration
from Mexico tolerated
 Factories lit up to support war effort
 Need: low-cost agricultural labor
 Bracero – joint program between U.S. and Mexico to contract
laborers for these jobs
 Popular with farmers
 5 million Mexicans came as braceros
 Once war ended, U.S. deported 4 million immigrants back to
Mexico, again
 This 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 combined
 Illegal immigration surges (10 million plus)
 Mexican-Americans influence culture in USA
 Communication – UNAVISION
 Jobs in most professions
 Public 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 Foresight
 De Gortari launched a high
spending splurge
 Lax banking surrounded
the government loan
 20 % over specualation of
the Peso
Recovery/Aid
 NAFTA 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 increased
 Rapidly catching up with the number of male migrants
 Low paying jobs (seamstress, maids)
 Prostitution
 U.S. role dates back to prohibition
 Relatively 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