of these countries. There has been significant legislation passed in the past century regarding immigration. The border is the focus of immigration legislation discussion. Immigration acts both grant and restrict rights of Mexican immigrants. This creates tension between Chicanos and immigrants who compete for low-wage jobs. The concept of strict borders is so crucial that it has prompted some vigilantes to take violent action against Mexican immigrants. Economic agreements among border countries diminish the strict barriers separating the economies of these countries. There has been significant legislation passed in the past century regarding immigration.
The Immigration Act of 1924 created a permanent quota system for immigrants entering the US. This policy did not apply to the Western Hemisphere since the US depended on Mexican workers coming into the country. Mexican laborers were especially crucial during World War I and II when thousands were recruited to harvest US crops. Despite being encouraged to work in the United States, Mexican workers faced hostility during the Great Depression. In order to combat unemployment rates, the US began repatriating Mexican descendents in 1935. The 1935 Repatriation deported thousands of immigrants as well as citizens of Mexican heritage. In 1953, the US enacted Operation Wetback to curb undocumented immigration. Officials would sweep through Mexican American neighborhoods looking for undocumented immigrants. Often they stopped Mexican looking citizens on the street who were legal citizens. One million undocumented immigrants were found and deported, often with their US born children. After public outrage of the police stopping Mexican looking citizens, the act was repealed.
The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 repealed the origins quota system present in the 1924 act. It allowed a maximum of 170,000 immigrants from Eastern countries and only 20,000 per country were allowed to enter. This act shifted the focus from European to Latin American and Asian immigrants.
More recent legislation includes the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that was passed in 1994. The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate trade barriers between Canada, Mexico and the United States. It was hoped that NAFTA would create fair competition in free trade. However, the shortcomings of NAFTA fell mostly on poor Mexican farmers and laborers. Farmers could not compete with the commercial farms of the US and forced them to sell crops at low prices. The effects of NAFTA resulted in many Mexican businesses providing cheap parts instead of becoming their own economic force. NAFTA has caused Latinos unemployement rates to increase on both sides of the border.
Recently President George Bush proposed immigration reform that would allow undocumented immigrants to legally hold jobs in the US critics claim that the Temporary Worker plan could prevent Mexican immigrants from improving their economic conditions since an employer must sponsor them in order to work in the US. The fear of deportation might prevent workers from complaining about working conditions.
For more information:
Feds' border action not nearly enough
Schwarzenegger praises Minuteman
Political cartoon created by Kevin Tuma
The feds are tied down by the fact that the influx of cheap labor from undocumented immigrants maintains the US economy. Without these illegal workers, the US economy would be weakened because this cheap labor source is vital. Therefore, the feds, even though they work to further anti-immigration laws and policies, must act as if illegal immigrants are good and minimize the strict anti-immigration acts. The illegal immigrants are holding a flag with Aztlan written on it to symbolize the mythical land occupied by the Aztecs.
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