The changing demography of latino immigrants in the united states  (Page 2/8)

In this chapter, we seek to present a demographic profile of the Latino population over the course of three decades— 1980 to 2000— using a U.S. decennial data. Because the Mexican-origin population represents the largest segment of the Latino population (approximately more than three-fifths are Mexican) and have the longest presence in this country (extending back to the signing of the Treat of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848), the analysis will provide an overview of the overall Latino and Mexico immigrant populations. The analysis focuses on several key demographic and socioeconomic attributes of the population. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of the demographic and socioeconomic attributes of Latino immigrants on the institutions of the country. In order to understand the changes that will be outlined below, we begin by offering an historical context.

Historical context

Immigration from Latin America —more specifically from Mexico— is well entrenched in U.S. immigration policy and the periodic establishment of programs between Mexico and the United States. No other country besides Mexico has sent immigrants to the United States on a consistent basis since the early parts of the 20 ^th century. While Mexicans tended to move freely between across the Mexico-U.S. border during the 19 ^th century and early 20 ^th century, the volume of immigration rose dramatically in the 1910s during the Mexican Revolution. Spreading violence and social chaos in Mexico pushed Mexicans while U.S. employers pulled them to this country as well. Beginning in the 1880s, the United States had virtually halted Asian immigration, and had significantly reduced immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe beginning in the late 1910s. The void for cheap labor peaked with the passage of the National Origins Quota Acts of 1921 and 1924. U.S. employers readily welcomed Mexican immigrants to fill such jobs. Indeed, U.S. employers depending heavily on Mexican laborers pushed to exempt Mexicans from the requirements of the Immigration Act of 1917 (exempting them from literacy requirements and head tax fees) and excluding Mexico (along with the remainder of the Americas) from immigration quotas. The special treatment of Mexican immigrants at this time illustrates the deep linkages between the U.S. and Mexican governments in sustaining a steady supply of labor to the United States, a pattern that has been played out repeatedly.

However, the state of the U.S. economy has generally been the primary barometer for the degree to which Mexican immigrants have been welcomed or shunned in this country. For example, following the onslaught of the Great Depression in 1929, the United States established a repatriation program to send Mexicans back to Mexico, which resulted in the repatriation of approximately 1.5 million Mexicans.

Nonetheless, the demand for manual labor in the United States brought on by WWII and the absence of males in the labor market forced the U.S. government to change its immigration restrictive policies with the cooperation of the Mexican government. The two countries worked in unison for the importation of contract laborers to come from Mexico to the United States to fill this labor gap through the creation of the Bracero Program in 1942. The program was so popular among many U.S. employers—due to the cheap labor that it provided—that the Bracero Program was extended way past the end of WWII, finally ending in 1964. Approximately 4.6 million Mexicans came to the United States to work as braceros .