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Independence
Mexico successfully gained their independence from Spain and is now on its own to grow. -
U.S. Mexico War Begins
Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico, went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for its peoples. By the end of the war, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California, and the United States became a continental power. -
U.S. Mexican War Ends
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the U.S.-Mexican War. Signed on 2 February 1848, it is the oldest treaty still in force between the United States and Mexico. As a result of the treaty, the United States acquired more than 500,000 square miles of valuable territory and emerged as a world power in the late nineteenth century. -
Gadsden Purchase
Under the Gadsden Purchase, the United States pays $10 million for about 30,000 square miles that runs south of the Gila River, east to El Paso and west to California. The purchase includes Tucson. -
Border Patrol Establishsed
Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors, usually called Mounted Guards, operated out of El Paso, Texas. Though they never totaled more than seventy-five, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration. -
Mexican Revolution
Thousands of Mexicans are forced to leave their coutry and enter the U.S. because of economic pressures and chaos with the Mexican government. -
1921 Immigration Act
The Immigration Act of 1921 restricts the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans. Agriculture lobbyists rally to block the movement to include Mexicans in the proposition. -
Labor Appropriation Act of 1924
In order to secure the borders between inspection stations, Congress passed an act establishing a U.S. border patrol. -
1,000,000 estimated Mexicans in the U.S. Illegally
The Southern boundary was unguarded and the Rio Grande could easily be crossed, in which case the smuggling of Mexicans across the border was an easy process. -
Operation Wetback
The U.S. Immigration Service deports more than 3.8 million people of Mexican heritage. Jobs were becoming too hard to come by for the American citizens and the immigration numbers were getting way out of hand. -
1965 Immigration Act
The 1965 Act made the annual maximum of Eastern Hemisphere immigrants 170,000, and no more than 20,000 per country. Individual visas were granted with priority given to family reunification, attracting needed skills to the United States, and refugees. Since 1965, sources of immigration to the United States has shifted from Europe to Latin America and Asia. -
Census Estimates Millions of Illegal Immigrants in the U.S.
Two to four millionsof illegal immigrants are estimated ot be in the U.S. and half of these illegal immigrants from Mexico. -
NAFTA
The North America Free Trade Agreement was between the US, Canada and Mexico.The Agreement will completely eliminate tariffs over the years to come and will dissolve many other trade barriers such as quotas. On the day of its advent, NAFTA immediately affected approximately half of the agricultural trade between the U.S. and Mexico. "Import sensitive" items—such as Mexico's corn and beans and the United States' orange juice and sugar—are planned to be free of tariffs over the next 15 years. -
Working Together
U.S. and Mexico work together. Bill Clinton signs a declaration with Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo committing their nations for the first time to devise a joint strategy for combating drug trafficking. -
Prop 200
“Arizona Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act”
Requires a person to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote and identification to vote. -
HB 4437
House Bill 4437 is passed, calling for 700 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border at an estimated cost of $2.2 billion, and making illegal crossing into the United States a felony. -
Businesses Penalized for Hiring Undocumented Immigrants
Federal immigration law does not bar Arizona from suspending or revoking the licenses of businesses that employ unauthorized aliens. -
SB 1070
The passage of Arizona SB 1070, which allows law enforcement officials who have not been trained in immigration policy to demand papers from any Arizona residents they deem suspicious, is generally regarded as one of the most blatant examples of racial profiling legislation in U.S. history. Even as its status is currently being assessed by the federal court system, other states are considering similar legislation.
