Nikitina A.R.

National Technical University of Ukraine “Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”

The impact of the Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s on the Mexican American minority in the United States

Repatriation of unwanted immigrants is not a new or unprecedented phenomenon. In fact, all nations exercise their legal prerogative to rid themselves of undesirable aliens whenever such action suits an avowed purpose. Although the right of a state to follow their chosen paths of immigration and naturalization policy is undisputed, certain events in history prove that in many cases, basic human rights are violated by these policies.

As far as the history of immigration into the United States is concerned, Mexican migrant flows in and out of the country have been common, especially the seasonal ones. The Mexican American minority group as we see it today was formed as a result of the sequence of events, one of them being a result of the conclusion of the Mexican American War, that is the annexation of Texas and giving up some of the territories of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and California. However, the treatment the newly-made American citizens received was far from fair. Another way of formation of this group was natural immigration from Mexico, which was not legally restricted until 1965. Thus, today's Mexican Americans maintain very strong cultural ties with their historic homeland [4].

As the United States and the rest of the world began to feel the effect of the Great Depression on the counties' economies, one of the first population groups to be affected were Americans of the Mexican origin. Economic recession was accompanied by its two necessary attributes - inflation and unemployment. "Between 1930 and 1933 the number of unemployed Americans rose from four million to more than thirteen million" [3].

The available jobs were closed to Mexican Americans because of their lack of qualification. The situation got even worse because of the anti-Mexican feelings widespread in the Southwest. The stereotypical belief of that time was that Mexicans were a burden on American taxpayers. In reality, because of a high rate of unemployment and low wages, a lot of Americans, not excluding Mexicans, were receiving welfare payments. The most effective solution the local governments saw was the decision to repatriate Mexicans back to their homeland.

The situation included both the violation of human and civil rights on the one hand and citizenship matters on the other. "Many repatriated Mexicans had been living in the United States for decades and had children who were United States citizens by birth, who therefore could not be legally deported" [3].

Despite the fact that the exact number of the repatriated Mexicans is unknown, the Census figures show quite a difference - 377,000 Mexican-born people in 1940 compared to 639,000 persons in 1930. Thus, more than quarter of a million Mexican Americans left the country between 1930 and 1940, in reality, the figure is higher because of the large number of illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States.

Meier distinguishes three types of repatriates: "those who were deported by immigration officials, those who returned voluntarily to their home villages in Mexico, and those who were threatened in various ways with deportation and left reluctantly" [3].

During the early thirties one of the areas where repatriation was actively exercised was Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles County became the hotbed of the repatriation movement. Whether Mexicans were employed or unemployed, they were targeted by the Los Angeles County repatriation campaign. Even Mexicans not on relief were pressured into accepting repatriation offers. A special group of employees was recruited “to encourage the acceptance of repatriation" [1: 129]. It was considered more economically effective to repatriate Mexicans rather than to keep them on welfare payments. According to the Los Angeles Times, in year 1932 more than 200,000 repatriates returned to Mexico. The state of Texas gave the largest number of repatriates - about 132,000 people. At that time, it had the largest Mexican community in the United States. Most repatriated Mexicans did not receive much help in settling in their new homes and starting a new life. Special colonies were created by the Mexican government - in the states of Guerrero, Michoacan, Oaxaca, and Chiapas. Nevertheless, only five per cent of the repatriates were settled in this fashion.

The vast majority of Mexicans who returned to Mexico during the depression did not take part in government-sponsored programs. While in most instances the reception given the repatriates was a friendly one, friction between those who had remained in Mexico and those who had left could on occasion be detected. Mexican border towns, as well as other cities in northern Mexico, were willing to assist needy repatriates entering Mexico from the United States; but they were also anxious for the travelers to be on their way." A local charity society is providing meals for the repatriates”, one of American consuls observed. He added, however, that there was "a very noticeable desire on the part of the municipal authorities in Saltillo to hasten their departure from this city." The same could be said for Monterrey. Since American relief agencies had expressed reluctance to continue aiding Mexican indigents, it is understandable why Mexican charitable organizations also feared a strain on their resources. Both Saltillo and Monterrey possessed "a desire to prompt the repatriates to continue their journey forthwith to other points” [2: 146].

As a consequence of the forced repatriation, distrust, suspicion and hostile feelings of Mexican-Americans towards American government and Anglos in general have grown. The program affected negatively the U.S.-Mexican relations.

At the same time, Meier [3] points out a positive aspect of the Mexican experience in the thirties. "The depression, in addition to creating problems for all United States citizens, also led to increased interest in their problems, with special attention given to those of Mexican-Americans".

Texas State Educational Survey, Clement C. Young's Mexican Fact-Finding Committee and other committees published the reports which turned the public interest to the conditions of Mexican Americans and the socioeconomic problems of various minorities.

One of the sources of the publicity brought to the issue of repatriation was Francisco Balderrama and Raymond Rodríguez book called Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s. The book gives a very detailed picture of how Mexican immigrants managed to survive during the depression despite low-payed jobs and a great amount of discrimination. The books tells us in detail about traumas suffers by the repatriates. Thousands of older children who were citizens of the United States had to make a choice whether they should go and live in a country they had never seen, or stay in the United States without their families. Single women and orphans were also forced to leave the country. The authors of the book gathered the information from real interviews and archives of the Mexican government.

Thus, repatriation was a cheap, effective way of reducing the suddenly bloated, idle workforce. Mexican immigrants who had lost their jobs were returned home in significant numbers. This successful remedy for getting rid of unwanted workers would not be forgotten. The repatriation was quite a cynical and severe way to fight the economic recession, which has left a terrible trace on the destinies of many families.

Literature used

1. Balderrama F.E., Rodríguez R. Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s. – Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995. – 427 pages.

2. Hoffman A. Unwanted Mexican Americans in the Great Depression: repatriation pressures. – University of Arizona Press, 1974. – 207 pages.

3. Meier, M., Rivera, F. The chicanos: a history of Mexican Americans. – New York: Hill and Wang, 1972.

4. Schaefer, R. Racial and ethnic groups. – New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.