• A. 2004 - 18, 314,000 Latin Americans in the United States
• B. 2004, about 10.3 million illegal immigrants in the United States, out of about 35.7 million total immigrants
• C. 2004 - 5.9 million illegal immigrants from Mexico, 2.5 million from other Latin American countries
• D. 52% of these illegal migrants live in the border states of California, Florida, Texas, and Arizona.

• A. Prior to 1848, the American Southwest was part of Mexico
  • 1. 50,000 Mexicans choose to remain
  • 2. Everywhere except New Mexico, Anglos took control
  • 3. New Mexico continued under Nuevomexicano rule for many years
  • 4. Tejanos and Nuevomexicanos most successful in maintaining culture
  • 5. But did so in the face of heavy, direct attacks from Anglo culture
• B. Prior to the Depression large numbers of Mexicans brought to U.S as cheap labor
  • 1. Agricultural work throught West, as far north as Illinois
  • 2. Important in mining and railroads after Chinese banned
• C. Violence of Revolution and opportunity pushed many north
  • 1. Mexican population rose from 100,000 in 1900 to 1.5 million in 1930
  • 2. Recent arrivals became target of "Americanization" education campaign in California
• D. Great Depression brings hardship, Anti-Mexican backlash
  • 1. Many lost jobs, saw wages cut
  • 2. Deportation program began
    • a. 30,000/year between 1929-1933
    • b. 400,000 (including U.S. citizens) by 1937
• E. WWII - The bracero program
  1. Need for agricultural labor in U.S.
  • 2. Negotiated program for temporary workers with Mexico
  • 3. 200,000 between 1942 and 1947, earning $205 million
  • 4. Ethnic tensions led to Zoot-Suit Riots, June 1943, in L.A.

• F. Maquiladoras

  •  1. Plants that assemble items from U.S. made parts for shipment back to the U.S.

  • 2. Allows access to cheap labor with savings on import taxes

  • 3. History and size

    • a. began operation in 1965 with 3000 workers

    • b. By 1984, 680 factories and 184,400 workers

    • c. In 1999, 1.12 million workers exporting $52 billion in goods to U.S.

  • 4. Main force in cross-border economics

  • 5. Mostly employ young single women

    • a. Seen as more reliable and easily controlled

    • b. Many are younger daughters taking jobs for family health benefits

    • c. Many also come from other regions escaping abuse

    • d. Many have been victims of violent crime

  • 6. Significant impact on cross-border culture

    • a. Maquiladora workers have spending cash

    • b. Cross the border to buy fashions seen on telenovelas

    • c. Many also cross border to buy groceries - cheaper in U.S. usually

    • d. Border towns increasingly dependent on cross-border trade

    • e. Drop in peso value can severely affect economy in U.S. border towns

• A. Rapid growth of Hispanic population, legal and illegal, has produced tensions
  • 1. English Only campaigns
  • 2. Proposition 187 in California
  • 3. Anti-Immigrant campaigns
• B. Immigration Reform and Control Act, 1987
  • 1. First major legislation of current immigration policy
  • 2. Imposes stiff penalties for employing illegals
  • 3. Been followed by laws severely restricting asylum
  • 4. Another new law deports all non-citizens convicted of a felony
• C. Proposition 187 (California, 1994)
  • 1. Referendum which passed
    • a. cuts off illegals from health care
    • b. removes illegal children from schools
    • c. requires all social services to verify status and report illegals
  • 2. Proponents allege that illegals are a financial burden and breed crime
  • 3. Both of these ideas are hotly debated
• C. Illegal Immigration Act of 1996 put more emphasis on prosecuting the employers of undocumented workers
• D. Increased militarization of border
  • 1. National Guard, Army, Marines have all been used, as well as DEA and INS
  • 2. Tragedies and brutalities have resulted
  • 3. A Mexcian-American shepard, armed to protect his flock, was shot in one incident
  • 4. On a larger scale, 18% of Mexican-American citizens along border report harassment
  • 5. Congress has recently passed a law mandating the building of a large border wall - this is meeting with a lot of local resistance

IV. Development in cross-border culture

• A. Roots extend to Mexican-American War, but cross-border flow much greater now

• B. Tens of thousands have papers allowing them to crossover regularly

• C. Maids are important in this

  • 1. Many illegal, but make 5 times maquiladora pay

  • 2. In San Diego and El Paso, Mexican domestic help very common

• D. Rise of more authentic Mexican restaurants and grocery stores a key development

  • 1. Growing number of taquerias

  • 2. Tortilla Wars - increasing competition between tortilla factories

  • 3. Tortillas once home-made or local, now a major industry

  • 4. Biggest tortilla factory in the world serves just East L.A.

  • 5. General Mills sells Bunelitos in U.S. Southwest - a copy of a popular Mexcian cereal

• E. Sports an important factor

  • 1. Baseball part of Mexican culture since early 20th century

  • 2. U.S. players used to spend off season playing in Mexico

  • 3. Fernando Valenzuela drew many Mexicans in mid-1980s to follow U.S. teams

  • 4. Dallas Cowboys have become a favorite in Mexico

  • 5. While more and more Americans are following Mexican soccer

V. Bi-lingual border culture

• A. Over 150 years old

• B. Border communities traditionally downplay cultural importance of border

• C. Many small border communities have history of cross-border schools (now threatened)

• D. Bi-lingual movie houses have a long presence

• E. Border music increasingly popular - influences go both ways

  • a. ranchero

  • b. tejano

• F. English only campaigns have developed in some border states

  • 1. California recently banned bilingual education

  • 2. Fears of cultural threat

  • 3. Mexico sees need to defend its citizens in the U.S.

• G. Some Mexican border towns are becoming ghost towns

  • 1. Young people go north for work

  • 2. But often leave children with grandparents for fear of U.S. crime