Mexican Immigration

At the wake of 1930, the Great Depression hit the United States hard. There was a serious job crisis as well as food shortages that affected the Mexican immigrants as well as all American dwellers. During this time, most of the Mexican immigrants and the Mexicans Americans were subjected to additional threats and hostility as the American migrants believed the Mexicans were taking their jobs (Gratton & Merchant, 2013). The American government came up strongly with deportation threats and they initiated a program of repatriating the Mexicans to Mexico.

They were offered free rides back to Mexico and an assurance that the Mexican government would provide them with basic necessities to start over their lives: this acted as inspiration that provoked some Mexicans to volunteer to go back to Mexico.

Though the method worked most of the time, Mexicans were tricked and forced into complying with restitution. Sometimes worse, some of the American citizens suspected to be Mexicans were also deported to Mexico (Gratton & Merchant, 2013). The reparation of Mexican immigrants occured in order to protect the American economy by reducing the pressure of relief expenditures and to ensure that there are enough jobs for Americans.

Mexican repatriation had a severe impact on the remnants of the Mexicans that were still in the U.S. The repatriation affected the remnants economic, social, even psychological wellbeing in different ways (Cosmae 2008). Based on economic aspects, the Mexicans remnants were denied the available job opportunities due to lack of experience. There were also anti-Mexican emotions that spread in most parts of the U.S., particularly the southwest part (Cosmae 2008). Mexicans were limited from speaking their mother language an compelled to speak English, which they weren’t fluent in. An idea existed within the United States claiming Mexicans to be burden to Americans. There were also some complexities associated with segregation within schools that resulted in many Mexican children dropping out of school(Cosmae 2008).

The Mexicans immigration policy also shows adversely on the needs of American society. The Americans needs put it clear that the Americans value the essence of mono-race and not diversity as such they did not welcome the Mexicans as they were from a different race (Seller, 1982). It is also vivid that the Americans felt seriously threatened by the Mexicans in a different dimension. The Americans feared for their future because the Mexican’s population kept on increasing. They felt that the Mexicans will put more pressure on their resources and opportunities making the Americans feel threatened (Seller, 1982).

The Mexicans immigration policy also reflects the American society as a mean society since the American society did not want the Mexicans in their country when they pushed for their deportation to ensure that they preserve more jobs for the Americans. Furthermore, there was also a strong need by American society to protect their culture, customs, traditions, beliefs as well as upholding their national unity (Seller, 1982).

The Mexican repatriation of 1930 impacted the future immigration policies, and by extension the attitudes of Americans towards the Mexicans by laying a foundation of principles and ideas that would shape the immigration policies as well as the attitudes of American Citizens. 90 years after Mexican Repatriation, American leaders, for instance, their current president Trump who seems to echo the actions on repatriation but this time in a different version (Verney, 2019).

President Trump has strongly emerged with massive deportation plans and policies that will see Mexicans deported back to Mexico. Trump also proposed immigration reform which includes building walls on the Mexican border as well as deportation of the Mexicans (Verney, 2019). The deportation plan echoes the most vital chapters of American history of the 1930s during the Great Depression where almost half a million of people were compelled out of the U.S. into Mexico.

The Great Depression in the wake of 1930 led to massive economic problems. Most of the US citizens and the Mexicans immigrants faced problems like inadequate job opportunities and food problems. American society started seeing Mexicans as the source of their problems. Thus, the Americans had to come up with a technique that will return the Mexicans back to Mexico. Repatriation instead of deportation was used as Repatriation was seen as a voluntary act. However, almost one century afterward the action of repatriation echoes the forgotten chapters of American history when American President Donald Trump comes with deportation plans to return Mexicans to their country. This implies that the Repatriation of the 1930s laid a foundation for future deportation of Mexicans by American society to protect their values and needs. 

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