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new industries in the U.S
Beginning around the 1890s, new industries in the U.S. Southwest specially mining and agriculture ttracted Mexican migrant laborers. -
The Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) then increased the flow: war refugees and political exiles fled to the United States to escape the violence. -
Immigrants Working
Image of Mexican immigrants working with sickles to cut weeds along the side of a road outside of Chicago in 1917 -
The 1920s
Mexicans also left rural areas in search of stability and employment. As a result, Mexican migration to the United States rose sharply. The number of legal migrants grew from around 20,000 migrants per year during the 1910s to about 50,000–100,000 migrants per year during the 1920s -
The Great Depression
At the onset of the Depression in 1929, entire industries dried up, and the need for immigrant labor decreased. Many Mexican migrants found themselves suddenly impoverished and tens of thousands of rural workers went back to Mexico. Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans were also deported under unofficial “repatriation” policies led by federal, municipal or city authorities. -
Bracero program
The limitations on Mexican immigration lasted until the beginning of World War II, when the United States found itself short of labor. In 1942 the United States and Mexico instituted the Bracero program. millions of Mexican laborers were contracted to complete agricultural work in the United States. While under contract they were given housing and received a minimum wage. The program was intended to provide the United States with temporary workers while many working-aged men were away at war. -
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 which had put limits on the total number of visas granted, was amended in 1965 following the termination of the Bracero Program. These amendments put an end to the quota system, and instead, created a total number of visas allowed to the Western Hemisphere. Exceptions to that total number were granted to spouses, minors and parents of United States citizens. However, the total allotment of 120,000 in 1965 still was not enough to address the demand. -
Operation Wetback
In response to the growing number of Mexicans entering illegally, the United States government implemented Operation Wetback in 1954. Under the direction of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the Border Patrol began deporting Mexicans who were in the United States illegally, and up to one million Mexicans were deported. Operation Wetback ended not long after its launch, due to the complaints regarding the violence involved in the deportations. -
September 11 attacks
In response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack, the United States heightened security measures, which included revising immigration policy -
Economic crisis of 2008
The 2008–2012 economic crisis of 2008 has led to a decline of work opportunities in the U.S., meaning that many immigrants who came to the U.S. for work couldn't find any. Access to social security, healthcare and education has also become more difficult -
Deportations reached record numbers
Since 2010, U.S. legislation on illegal immigration has been reinforced, as several American states criminalized illegal immigration. Deportations under the Obama administration have reached record numbers.
