In 1848, according to Oxford, Mexican immigration began at the conclusion of the US-Mexican War. The United States was driven by annexationist designs for additional western lands and resources. The U.S. military invaded Mexico and occupied it for roughly two years. When Texas became an American state in 1845, the United States government claimed that it belonged to the U.S. since Texas, when it declared itself independent in 1836, claimed that the land belonged to it when it was a territory. This resulted in the U.S. sending soldiers into the contested territory and provoking hostilities. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war on February 2, 1848. This treaty gave Mexican citizens residing in the ceded territory one year to remove themselves and their property back to Mexico. “Those who did not move automatically became American citizens, with federal guarantees, as spelled out in the Treaty, stipulating that their rights, property, and “white” racial status would be honored and held inviolable; guarantees that were rarely honored de facto” (Oxford).
Annexation is the act of annexing something or the state of being annexed : the addition of an area or region to a country, state, etc.
merriam-webster
“Mexican immigration to the United States is best characterized as the movement of unskilled, manual laborers pushed northward mostly by poverty and unemployment and pulled into American labor markets with higher wages. Historically, most Mexicans have been economic immigrants seeking to improve their lives. In moments of civil strife, such as the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917) and the Cristero Revolt (1926–1929), many fled to the United States to escape religious and political persecution. Others, chafing under the weight of conservative, patriarchal, tradition-bound, rural agrarian societies, have migrated seeking modern values and greater personal liberties.”
Oxford research Encylopedias
The Mexican Economy Under President Porfirio Díaz
The years between 1900 and 1930 involved political turmoil in Mexico and the rise of agribusiness in the American Southwest. This prompted a large-scale migration of Mexicans to the U.S. “Transformations in the Mexican economy under President Porfirio Díaz left many peasants landless and desperate; when he was overthrown in 1911, ten percent of Mexico’s population departed for the U.S. There they found work in mining and agribusiness, which were transforming the economy of the Southwest from a region of small, entrepreneurial landholders into one dominated by large enterprises employing wage labor” (American Social History Project).
Learn More Check out The Amplification of Nativism and Xenophobia for further information about the Trump and Biden Administrations regarding Mexican and Central American immigration.
Continue Reading: The Creation of the “Illegal Alien”
Last edited April 26, 2021.
U.S. Immigration Detention 
You must be logged in to post a comment.