Mexican Immigration

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the turbulent history of Mexican immigration to the U.S. and its importance to the development of this country. The writer describes how American policy with regard to Mexican immigrants kept changing, depending on whether they were needed as cheap labor or not. For example, the creation of a Border Control in 1924 meant that for the first time it became a crime to come to the U.S. in search of employment, and between 1930 and 1941 15 million Mexicans were deported. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mexicans were again needed in American factories and fields, and the Bracero, or "guest worker" program was implemented. The writer gives some statistics showing the impact of Mexican immigrant workers on the average wage, on the poor and low-income population and on the fiscus. Some of their problems are discussed as well as possible solutions, and the paper concludes that the current situation cannot be improved by legalization of aliens and a guest worker program, since the root cause needs to be addressed in Mexico.

From the Paper:

"Men and women of all ages worked the factories and the able-bodied were sent to fight. America needed the Mexicans to come back. In this war to stop German aggression and keep our freedom, when the destiny of our allies and our nation was at stake, we asked the Mexicans to help. In August of 1942 the governments of Mexico and the United States met and hammered out an agreement. Mexico would send men to work our agriculture and maintain our railways and alleviate shortages in manpower where they could."

Sample of Sources Used:

• CIS.org Article: Immigration From Mexico no date Retrieved 12-2-06 from: http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/mexico/release.html
• Farmworkers.org US Need Farm Workers no date Retrieved 12-3-06 from: http://www.farmworkers.org/usneedbp.html
• PBS.org Beyond the Border no date Retrieved 12-2-06 from: http://www.pbs.org/itvs/beyondtheborder/immigration.html

More papers on Mexican Immigration:

• Term Paper # 107869 : "Mexican Immigration and its Effect on US Economy"
• Analytical Essay # 35401 : "Mexican Immigration"
• Term Paper # 121736 : "Mexican Immigration"

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