Mexican "Repatriation" 1930's Style
Thanks to This Week In History, I learned that there was a mass deporting of Mexicans nearly eighty years ago, implementing many of the same techniques and for many of the same reasons as the current rash of anti-immigrant governmental practices.
"A national program of deportation began in 1928 and peaked in 1931. Secretary of Labor William N. Doak instigated a scare campaign against Mexicans with immigration officers, local police and newspapers publicizing deportation “raids” as a way to frighten Mexicans into leaving voluntarily. Dr. Jorge Chinea writes that one problem with the mass departure lay in the fact that it included legal and illegal immigrants, temporary workers and permanent residents, U. S. citizens and aliens."
Sound familiar? Find out more at the El Paso Community College Local History Project.
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Yeah, it was a lot like what happened with Americans of Japanese descent, in that many of the "Mexicans" that were deported were Americans of Mexican descent--not even migrants. They were just brown...
The gov't was sued years later but i don't think anything came of that.
In T. Don Hutto 'family' prison/detention center--some of those children are U.S. citizens, they were born here. The gov't would never do that to white kids (whether they are legal or not)
Greetings, luisa. Welcome to our house. You're absolutely right about the government not doing such things to White kids. In line with what was done to the Japanese-Americans, however, a few years ago, those who could document suffering through their internment were blessed with $20,000 a piece (not enough, but something). One can only wonder what the reasoning is that allows for paying recompense to "yellow" people, but not to "brown" or "black" ones, since none of them are "white"...?