Immigration

Anna Jerpseth, Question 1

to what is currently Mexico for many reasons. People moved around the South West to forage,

hunt, make a living and return to the South to be with family. When the Border Patrol was

established in 1924, it attempted to restrict the movement of people, but more than that to punish

the people who were caught migrating. Despite this, people migrated to work in fields, mines,

railroads and factories. The people who migrated from Mexico took jobs that were more difficult

and sometimes more dangerous than what Americans were willing to do. The creation of border

patrol, racist legislation and programs that attempted to regulate migration contributed to an

inconsistent and misguided view of how immigration works.

The business of agriculture relies on the seasonal work of migrants. Even so, America

attempted to make border crossing illegal with the National Origins Act of 1924 that put a

nationality-based quota system that limited the number of people allowed to immigrate from

certain countries each year. Because of the need for workers, agribusiness men continuously

lobbied for legislation for “exemption from the national quota system for all immigrants from the

Western Hemisphere such as Canada, Mexico and Cuba.” (Hernandez, 28). This exemption

spurred racist comments from Nativists who did not want any immigration. Their claims were

that The agribusiness men knew they relied on the work of Mexicans and immigrants and

continued to make racist comments calling immigration a racial problem, and claiming that

Mexicans can be easily controlled. They were reported to “show that they lack ambition,”

(Major Problems, chp. 11, sec1). This same author goes on to claim that Mexican immigrants

supply of labor was indeed helpful but also that “ their low standards of living and of morals,

their illiteracy, their utter lack of proper political interest, the retarding effect of their

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employment upon the wage scale of the more progressive races, and finally their tendency to

colonize in urban centers with evil results, combine to stamp them as a rather undesirable class

of residents.” This quote shows the two minds of the Nativists that were making legislation- that

they wanted all the benefits of profiting off of Mexicans hard work and labor without having to

provide anything necessary to live. This blatant disregard of human life is a common theme in

the history of the borderlands.

Many ethnic Mexicans felt there was no way to avoid the caste system that had been put

in place. Joining a union was painting a target on their own backs. For example, the Bisbee

deportation that was used by a mining company to break up a union. Without discretion, mine

workers were forced into hot train cars and shipped to Mexico, regardless of nationality (Meeks,

lecture). Companies that had lobbied to keep Mexican workers in America were able to use their

workers undocumented status against them at their own whim. Some ethnic Mexicans found

ways around this by claiming whiteness and Americanness. Even if a person’s ancestors had

been in America since the treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo, their right to citizenship or to vote was

waived by their ethnicity (Meeks, lecture). White people and ex-slaves had the right to

citizenship after the 13th amendment. But, American politics are consistent in only the fact that

they are inconsistent. While slavery had ended, many people living in America had no hope for

citizenship based and, as was popular at the time, it was all based on race.

The tensions continued to rise and America felt the need to build a big fence. The

fence was a vastly impractical idea as the border patrol didn’t have enough money to fund its

construction. The places it was built gave the Nationalists something to swoon over,but the

Mexican nationals who wanted to get through needed only to cut a hole to crawl through

(Hernandez, 131). American border patrol would shoot or deport the people who got through and

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Mexican officers would ship the people towards the center of Mexico. Their attempt to disrupt

the “social systems” (as Hernandez puts it, pg 134) was successful. Border Patrol would pick

illegal crossers up in one area, bus them to a completely different and unfamiliar area where they

know no one and leave them on the other side of the border there. This increased the crime rates

and made the need for a way to legally cross very necessary. The Bracero program (1942) was a

way for Mexican nationals to cross the border legally and return to Mexico when their contract

was up. It was thought up by America and Mexico combined. Even with the attempt at

organizing the crossing efforts, people crowded the gates to pass through for work, they were

tricked and scammed out of money and property and shot at by Border Patrol. Then when they

made it to America to be abused by foremen “who would punish or fire you if you defended your

rights,” (illustrated by Major Problems ch. 13, sec. 5, pg 474).

In a twisted turn of events, American Border Patrol created a plan of mass deportation, an

operation with horribly derogatory name- “Operation Wetback.” A bill so focused on nationalism

they couldn’t even write the anti-Mexican sentiment out of the name. They took peoplefrom

home, from work and from their homes over the course of 20 days in 1953 and more over the

course of the next year. Border Patrol proudly estimated 1 million people they had forcibly

removed from the country (doctored numbers according to Hernandez) (Hernandez, 171). This

happened during the time of the Bracero program, when legislation led everyone to believe that

the “problem” of immigration was under control and that America had a handle on the situation.

Border Patrol had simply scaled up their operation to catch as many undocumented people as

possible and targeted the impoverished population. As Border Patrol went through the camps set

up by agribusiness men, they found that will the farmers had been fighting to keep their workers

in America, they had also been allowing their workers to live in hazardous and unlivable

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conditions. On top of that, the agribusiness men would insinuate that if the undocumented

workers ever left the farm, they would be picked up immediately by Border Patrol (wonder who

called the tip in.) The Border Patrol was ignoring America’s slogan of “the Great American

Melting Pot,” and the farmers ignored the Natural law of basic human rights. Again, the blatant

disregard of human life is left as the remnant of personal or political agendas and deep seeded

human greed.

Speaking of human greed, the next piece of legislation was said to be the first step in

world peace. Clinton enacted a plan for free trade between all countries in the Western

Hemisphere(Major Problems ch. 14 sec 1). His plan was to allow all countries to trade freely and

create a stable economy from which everyone benefits but no one has to move out of their

country to benefit from. What amazing plan could that be? How can one piece of legislation fix

all the troubles of the world? Introducing NAFTAn(1993), the bill that will let Americans send

their unprocessed goods to Mexico to be processed. Free trade, but no free movement(Meeks,

Lecture). In theory, as with many plans, this seemed a humane way of getting Mexicans jobs that

they need from America without having to deal with all of the messy byproducts humans tend to

produce. In reality, it brought more Mexicans to the North of Mexico to work near the border.

The work offered was much needed and women started to work in these factories to put together

the pieces America had manufactured. The cities and towns in North Mexico became

overcrowded and the murder of young women increased, (Major Problems Ch 14, sec 8). The

wages were better near the border, but best in America.

Crossing the border could mean death. It’s very likely to mean death. The Border Patrol

produced what Professor Meeks called “very questionable” and probably very inaccurate

statistics about the amount of people who die trying to cross (Meeks, lecture). More likely to be

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correct are the social action teams that go through the desert to “liter” jugs filled with life saving

water. They find remains and burial grounds and count them in a tally that has nothing to hide

and everything to prove. The people who found it in themselves to cross and make money to fuel

the economy back home. Mexican President, Vincente Fox, praised the emigrants for making the

pilgrimage to America and helping to secure Mexico’s third largest source of income (Major

Problems, chp 14, sec 3). These heroes left home to go through the desert to where the fence can

be walked through, to where America had decided that no one would be desperate enough to

walk through.

In my experience, rarely have I met a Mexican national who doesn’t long to go home.

There might be things they don’t like, or things they wish were different, but that's true for

Americans too. Most of the time, the needs they have met in America outweigh their wish to go

home. But if it wasn't so dangerous, if it was an easier journey, if the risk of death wasn’t

involved, Mexican nationals might live in Mexico and work in the US. The Bracero program, if

done altruistically, could have been a great and powerful program. If done altruistically, any of

these programs might not have been so heart wrenching to learn about (except Operation

Wetback, that one could never be construed as altruistic). The border being so dangerous means

that people only can do it once, making returning home out of the question. And now more than

ever there are stories coming from the border of asylum seekers being herded like cattle with no

food and water for days, one iron gate away from America, being held for their hearing. The

biggest consistency I can find through the legislation I examined and the trends of views on

immigration are that legislation moves with the times. When America needs workers, legislation

is more forgiving, but if it’s struggling to keep up with the needs of its citizens, immigrants are

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the enemy. And while laws are made to protect some people, they can also blatantly disregard the

worth of someone else.