Migration from Mexico to the United States
between 1900 and 1986

von: Harald Löberbauer

Table of Contents

Introducing 3

United States Immigration Traditions 3

Temporary Labor Force Migration from Mexico to the United States 4

Labor-Force Importation and Deportation Policy (1942-1964) 11

The Liberalisation of the Immigration Policy between 1964 and the beginning of the so-called neo-restrictive policy marked by IRCA 1986 18

Bibliography 25
 

Introducing

This thesis should demonstrate in what dimension the mexican migration set in in the beginning of the 20th century. To show this it is necessary have a look on the immigration policies in the late 19th century. This chapter will be very short to pass into the mexican migration from 1900 to the beginning of the Second World War which marked the end of the socalled “temporary” mexican guestworker movement. Then we are going to have a look on the migration between 1942 and 1964 characterized by the bracero program and second the period after 1964 characterized by opening and liberalizing the United States immigration policy until 1986. In 1986 because a neo-restrictive tendency in immigration policy set in but this will not b part of this analysis.

United States Immigration Traditions

US immigration traditions often have been altered by the government during the History of the United States. The United States have been, are and will be a country of immigration. Until 1882 the federal government of the United States abstained from doing immigration policy. Regulating immigration was part of the states. Those also were not really interested in doing policies regulating immigration.

For this reason private endeavours were able to do their own immigration policy. That means labor force recruitment from other countries. Till 1900 Labor-Force Migration from Mexico to the United States between 1900 to 1942 January 2005 Page 3 migrant workers came mostly from Europe (Ireland, Poland, Germany, Italy).1 The first official policy of regulating immigration was the Immigration Act of 1875. This Act bars the immigration of convicts and of women for the purpose of prostitution.2 This chapter should just express that the “open doors” of America started to close in the beginning of the 20th century. During the First World War the number of migrants from Europe declined relatively strong. Since 1917 a migration movement from South to North on the American Continent set in. The highest migration rates were from Mexico and Canada. Those countries were the main sending countries until 1919.3

Temporary Labor Force Migration from Mexico to the United States The starting mexican migration of workers in a greater dimension set in during the First World War. Those people mostly worked on american farms in the southwestern and western states of the United States, primarily in the states of Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona. Those states are bordering the mexican boundary. So for that case those states were preferred by mexican agricultural workers because of the short distance to their homeland in Mexico.4 The main focus of the United States regulation policy in relation to immigration at the beginning of the 20th century have been immigrants from Europe and Asia. An annual report of the Immigration Bureau5 of 1903 pointed out that the United States border to Mexico and the border to Canada have been completely unmonitored. Until this time the present procedure of monitoring the land border of the United States was restricted to have a look on illegal european and asian immigrants coming to the USA from Mexico and Canada.6

Mexican migration have not been considered as a real problem of immigration to the United States in the beginning of the 20th century. Policy-makers saw the only problem of an unmonitored landborder to Mexico that Asians and Europeans could get in the US from Mexico. At this time Asians in general were not allowed to enter the United States.7 Congress authorized a modest border patrol force in 1906 in response to the mentioned report of the immigration bureau of 1903.8 The setting in migration of mexican workers about to the First World War is characterized as a migration of short time (temporary migration) laborforce migration. During the period of the First World War United States government started the policy to import mexican labor to the border regions to work there in the agricultural areas. Mexico itself because of its geographical closeness to the United States is appropriate to import cheap labor-force to work in agriculture.9

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1 Thomas J. Archdeacon (1983), Becoming American: An Ethnic History. New York, p.34-36

2 Edward P. Hutchinson (1981), Legislative History of American Immigration Policy, Philadelphia, p.440,441

3 David Ward (1990), “Population Growth, Migration, and Urbanization, 1860-1920” in: Robert D. Mitchell, Paul A. Groves. North America: The Historical Geography of a Changing Continent, Savage, 14 (1), 299-319, p.309

4 Ricardo Romo (1992), East Los Angeles, History of a Barrio, Austin, p.7-9 Labor-Force Migration from Mexico to the United States between 1900 to 1942

5 The United States Immigration Bureau was founded in 1820. From 1920 on the immigration bureau started to collect the personal data of the immigrating persons. In 1933 President Herbert Hoover merges the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization to form the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). INS is still implemented as an agency in the US government.

6 Daniel J. Tichenor (2002), Dividing Lines. The Politics of Immigration Control in America, New Jersey, p.168

7 Joseph Nevins (2002), Operation Gatekeeper. The Rise of the “Illegal Alien” and the Making of the U.S.- Mexico Boundary, London, p.26

8 Daniel J. Tichenor (2002), Dividing Lines. The Politics of Immigration Control in America, New Jersey, p.168 Labor-Force Migration from Mexico to the United States between 1900 to 1942

9 Kitty Calavita (1995), “Mexican Immigration to the USA: The Contradictions of Border Control“ in: Robin Cohen, The Cambridge Survey of World Migration, Cambridge, 8/1 (1/1), 236-245, p.236