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Racial Violence on the U.S-Mexico Border Emma Lazarus, 1883 Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land: Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightening, and her name: Mother of Exiles. Her mild eyes command the air-bridged welcome, “Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp,” cries she with silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882 Forty-Seventh Congress. Session I. 1882 Chapter 126.-An act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to Chinese. Preamble. Whereas, in the opinion of the Government of the United States the coming of Chinese laborers to this country endangers the good order of certain localities within the territory thereof. Therefore, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the expiration of ninety days next after the passage of this act, and until the expiration of ten years next after the passage of this act, the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States be, and the same is hereby, suspended; and during such suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chinese laborer to come, or, having so come after the expiration of said ninety days, to remain within the United States. Main Eras and Major Themes Conquest 1835-60: Manifest Destiny 1860-1910: Creating a New Racial Order 1910-1942: Revolution and Backlash 1942-1965: Operation Wetback & Braceros 1965-9/11/01: The Modern Border “Post 9-11” Main Points and Arguments U.S. Mexico Border was born in violence Cycles of Conquest and dispossession Most border history written to appease American beliefs about its own sense of righteousness History as patriotic propaganda and feel-good mythology Immigration policies based on race and economics, not just democratic principles Violence on the border was sanctioned by state and territorial officials to maintain racial “order” Conquest Conquistadors expanded the Spanish empire in search of labor and gold Missions and presidios on northern Spanish Borderlands Racial conflict with Apaches, Comanches, Tonkawas, Tohono O’Odham Pope’ & Pueblo Revolt 1680; De Vargas & Reconquista 1700s-1815: weak frontier, growing influence of Americans: Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, Expeditions and border skirmishes The Alamo: Myth and History Post-Mexican Independence, 1824 Mexican Colonization Laws: 1830 American Immigration Illegal American Immigrants violate Mexican Constitution: slavery, land theft Tejas and Coahuilla: statehood Texas Independence & the Alamo Myth of the Alamo U.S.-Mexico Disputed Area Manifest Destiny, 1835-1860 U.S. rejects Texas’ bid for annexation President Polk and other empire builders want expansion Fabricate a border war as excuse for invasion: “Blood on American Soil” U.S—Mexico War, 1846-48 The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Gadsden Purchase A New Border Ulysses S. Grant “I do not think there ever was a more wicked war than that waged by the United States in Mexico. I thought so at the time, when I was a youngster, only I had not the moral courage enough to resign.” Abraham Lincoln "...the president unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced a war with Mexico....The marching an army into the midst of a peaceful Mexican settlement, frightening the inhabitants away, leaving their growing crops and other property to destruction, to you may appear a perfectly amiable, peaceful, un- provoking procedure; but it does not appear so to us.” Colonel A. Hitchcock, 1847 “The United States are the aggressors…. We have not one particle of right to be here....It looks as if the government sent a small force on purpose to bring on a war, so as to have a pretext for taking California and as much of this country as it chooses....My heart is not in this business." Commentary February 11, 1847: The "Congressional Globe:" "We must march from ocean to ocean....We must march from Texas straight to the Pacific ocean....It is the destiny of the white race, it is the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon Race." American Review [writes of Mexicans]: "yielding to a superior population, insensibly oozing into her territories, changing her customs, and outliving, exterminating her weaker blood." Creating a Racial Order Post Treaty: states and territories passed laws violating Mex Am civil rights Many declared “non-citizens” due to “Indian blood,” barred from court, voting Indians onto reservations or Indian Territory Railroads connected border to world economy Anglo immigration increased, upset old racial order, increased racial violence Racial Hegemony Apache—Geronimo Political corruption (Santa Fe Ring) – – – Thomas Catron 1860s-1870s Colluded with politicians, speculators 34 land grants for himself = 2 million acres Ku Klux Klan Sons of the Golden West Japanese Exclusion League Violence and Resistance Juan Cortina (Brownsville) Gregorio Cortez Salt War of 1877 Juaquin Murrieta Las Gorras Blancas Texas: Lone Star State Texas Rangers Ethnic conflict and Ethnic cleansing Sul Ross: The Whiteman South Texas: 1902-1918 poll taxes, white primary, segregated education Progressive newspapers’ view of Mexicans in 1913, “a class of foreigners who claim American citizenship but who are as ignorant of things American as a mule.” Mexican Revolution Internal and external origins Porfiriato: Order and Progress Foreign ownership of Mexican industry Railroads, mining, exports Land loss Peasant rebellion against Porfirio Diaz and American capitalists American Incursions General John “Blackjack” Pershing and Pancho Villa Columbus, New Mexico Arizona Pancho Villa and El Paso Estimated 75 U.S. incursions into Mexico between 1850 and 1929 (Anderson) U.S. gave itself the “right” to unilaterally enter Mexico, after Mexico rejected such a treaty Racial Terrorism and Backlash El Plan de San Diego Socio-economic rebellion Texas Rangers & massive violence @ 5,000 dead Texas Rangers, 1915 The Border and Immigration States and territories regulated immigration until the Supreme Court in 1875 declared it a federal responsibility Immigration Act of 1882 – Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883 Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885 & 1887 Immigration Act of 1891 – Entry tax, prohibited “undesirables” Unclean, “unstable”, polygamists, Ellis Island, El Paso & Angel Island Laws and Policies Naturalization Act of 1790: whites only State Boards and Commissions under direction of the U.S. Treasury Department U.S. Customs officials and “Chinese Inspectors” 1891 Law created: Office of the Superintendent of Immigration Service, in Treasury Dept 1903 transferred the Bureau of Immigration to the Department of Labor and Commerce Basic Naturalization Act of 1906 added Naturalization to the Bureau of Immigration The Border and Immigration, cont… 1913: Bureau of Imm and Nat divided into different Bureaus within the Dept of Labor 1917 Immigration Act (literacy) 1924 Reed-Johnson Act (1890 Census) – Did not target Mexicans 1924 Border Patrol created Fused two Bureaus into “INS” 1940 moved “INS” to the Dept of Justice La Migra, 1920s Unintended Consequences 18th Amendment: Prohibition & Volstead Act (1920-1930s) U.S. businesses produced alcohol in border towns, smuggled north with Mexican assistance Border towns as places of vice (alcohol, gambling, prostitution) Myths of “Donkey Shows” and “Easy Mexicanas” El Paso/Juárez & San Diego/Tijuana Military bases and prostitution (Ft. Bliss) U.S. Fraternities The Great Depression: Repatriation Round-ups by U.S. Immigration Service L.A. County chartered trains for 12,000 Mexicans CO sent 20,000 & banned “foreign labor” Mexican Texan citizens were denied relief by city, county, state agencies Deported Mexicans and New Mexican migrants Over 500,000 deported: roughly half forcefully World War Two and Bracero Program Urbanization, Industrialization & War Service Used high school students, JapaneseAmerican internees, & prisoners. Turned to Mexico & created Bracero Program in 1942 The Bracero Program Corporate farmers, states and federal gov’t solicited Mexican workers or passively encouraged them…before 1940s Program lasted from 1942-1964 1 yr contracts paid 75% prevailing wage Mex gov’t initially refused to send them to Texas 4.5 million in program Bracero Program and Racial Policitics Corporate farmers, state governors, and federal gov’t solicited Mexican workers or passively encouraged them…before 1940s Soldiers returned and altered labor demands 1952 Mexico asked U.S. to pass Public Law 283 prohibiting importation of non-braceros Mexico wanted better wages, contracts, and working conditions for its workers in the U.S., which refused, so U.S. neglected bracero program “The Illegal Alien” 1950s… Business contracting stations on the border, illegal immigration grew Mex reforms blended with anti-Mexicanism and the image of an “Alien Invasion” of Mexicans with diseases, immorality, crime, welfare Operation Wetback Reaction to “Illegal Immigration” 1954: Border Patrol immigrant round-ups 1 million deported in military style Growers wanted workers, so legal Braceros grew 1959 feds tightened laws for farmers wanting braceros, so illegal immigration grew The Modern Border, 1964-9/11/01 1964 Bracero Program ended, undocumented immigration grew 1964 Maquiladoras first built 1965 Immigration Act amended the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act – – Limited immigration from Western Hemisphere to 120,000 Exceptions for family re-unification; commuters, guest workers, “green carders” Turning Points and Observations 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act – – – Employer sanctions Eligibility for citizenship for residents since 1982 2 million gained citizenship 90% of California’s agricultural labor force in 1990 was foreign born 1994 California Proposition 187 – No social services Xenophobia 1970s: San Diego, Tom Metzinger reorganized the KKK into the White Aryan Resistance 1974-5: INS sweeps of “Mexicans” in El Paso resulted in deportation of dozens of U. S. citizens 1979: El Paso, border fences and walls, observation towers 1980s: U.S. English, English Only movement 1990s: Police, Border Patrol, INS conduct sweeps in Chandler, Arizona, arresting several citizens NAFTA: 1994 “Free Trade” and neo-liberal policies – U.S. continued price supports, subsidies, tariffs U.S. Jobs, continuing a trend since deindustrialization in the 1970s, went south and overseas Maquiladoras boomed, attracted more migrants & increased populations in under-developed cities. Surplus and expendable populations U.S. Job losses contributed to anti-Mexicanism High standard & cost of living precluded “Americans” from working in agr., meat packing, construction, service sector and other segments of economy Militarization of the Border Operation Hold the Line & Gatekeeper Texas-based “Ranch Rescue” “American Border Patrol “Civilian Homeland Defense” Minutemen Shortsighted responses and narrow view of larger U.S. policies and globalization that force poor people to trek across the desert and die in search of work Post 9/11 “Everything Changed…” and did not change Massive build-up on southern border when 9/11 bombers came in from Canada, overstayed legally acquired visas Fused “national security” with anti-Mexicanism U.S. agribusiness and other sectors fear loss of cheap, seasonal labor pool Minutemen part of long xenophobic tradition “Other” helps bind the nation and justify largest concentration of presidential power in U.S. History Sensenbrenner Bill