Mexican Immigration to the United States - Research Paper Example

MEXICAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED S DEPARTMENT OF THE BY TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………….3 Timeline on how Mexicans Arrived in the U.S.…………………………………………………..3 How Mexicans made their Way to Minnesota….….……………………………………………...5 Reasons why Mexicans made their Way up to Minnesota...……………………………………...6 How Mexican Immigration Helped/ Hindered the States………………………………………...7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….….9 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………….….10 Executive Summary The present Mexican Americans are a product of the past historical developments that started more than three centuries ago. This was when Spain subjugated Mexico making it a colony. Prior to that, the territory became inhabited entirely by Indians. The Mexicans in America encompass the oldest societal component of American in the second category. The question one would ask is: how did the Mexicans arrive in the United States? It is a question that a historical analyst would not wish to disregard. This paper shall scrutinize the timeline on how Mexicans arrived in the United States and specifically made their way to Minnesota. The paper will outline the reasons why they made their way up to Minnesota and hindered or helped the States. Timeline on how Mexicans Arrived in the U.S. The border between the United States and Mexico stretches for approximately 3, 140 kilometers (1, 950 miles) from Mexico-San Diego. It was until 1809 when the Southwest now known as the United States would be added to Mexico. During the era, from 1810-1848, southwest became part of the independent Mexico. Between the years 1846 and 1848, the war of Mexico gained the southwest for Americans. The war ended by the Guadalupe-Hidalgo’s Treaty. Under this treaty, the United States promised to guard the rights of the Mexicans in America within the newly won Territories. The Anglo-American assimilation came into the new territory in the period from 1849 up to 1910. The year 1910 hitherto, the eras started with an immense immigration to the U. S. from Mexico. This migration was both illegal and legal. In the early decades, the arrival of Mexicans would be part of the vast migratory trend that incorporated many immigrants from the Far East and Europe. The Immigration of the Mexicans continued gradually until the 1930s’ broad depressions. With the collapse of the economy of the United States, many immigrants would return to Mexico as many would be sent back by the government of the U.S. 1. In the years between 1910 and 1939, many Mexican Americans remained unassimilated, poor, rural, and Spanish speaking. In 1940s, Mexican Americans emerged as a visible and distinct social group within the United States. The civil rights movements of 1960s made the Mexican Americans take what would be rightfully theirs in the United States. This self awareness reinforced their continuous immigration to the United States. The Mexican American population changed from the rural to urban mode of life. As the city-dwelling marginalized group, they shared the problems with the rest of the poor in the urban centers. These problems involved second-rate housing, lack of jobs, and educational difficulties. By 1990s, more than 80 percent of the Mexican immigrants lived near or in cities. In those years after the Civil War in America, the Mexican immigrants began looking for jobs. They crossed into Texas to work within the cotton harvests2. By the last part of World War 1, the Mexican immigrants worked in California in the Central Valley on the large farms. They could work in the farther north of the states whenever they heard of crops on harvest. After every end of the harvesting season, many migrants went back to Mexico. However, other migrants waited for the subsequent season or looked for well paying jobs. During the Second World War, most of the American manpower got lost to the defense work and military forces. This resulted into shortages of the farm workers. The United States government negotiated with that of Mexico to lay agreements in forming a Mexican Farm Labor Supply Program. The program took effect for nearly 20 years after the war. In this period, Mexicans reached America in large numbers with an immense influx into Minnesota3. How Mexicans Made their Way to Minnesota Minnesota is among the favorite immigrants destination in the United States. Any tourist in the United States would choose Minnesota due to the opportunities of abundant resources for recreation, and comparatively low prices in housing. It is a conventional fact that Mexicans encompass the vast majority of immigrants within the United States of approximately 143,000 in Minnesota as reported in 2001. The Mexican immigration in Minnesota has occurred in both cities i.e. Saint Paul and Minneapolis4. Minnesota population constantly increases annually since 2001 with few signs of reducing. This would be to dig objectively deeper into the root causes of Mexican immigration. The Mexicans found their way into Minnesota in the early 1900s. How they specifically made their way into Minnesota, would be divided in three key stages. First, between the years 1906 and 1910 would be linked to the existing rail road companies which employed the Mexicans in the southwest. Second, from 1916 to 1919, it would be associated with the industrial employer demands and the rail road. The demand was as a result of the wartime economic booms and shortages in the United States’ labor markets. Some of the shortages would be due to the restricted immigration from Europe. Lastly, the Mexicans importation took place during the year 1920 and afterwards. The Mexicans would be imported to work in the plant of meat packaging in the South of Saint Paul. The Minnesota government took that initiative to ease the scarcity within the labor force5. The scarcity resulted from the Mexican labor strikes in Lowa and Kansas. These workers comprised the first immigrants’ generation to settle in Saint Paul the city of Minnesota. Reasons why Mexicans made their Way up to Minnesota The Mexican immigrants would find their way to Minnesota for various reasons. I. Recruitment in Minnesota sugar companies: this would be brought about by the shortages in the labor sector during the First World War. The Mexicans established a stopping point on the circuit of the farm work for the immigrants. II. The flats at Saint Paul on the west side would be convenient for their settlement. III. The lines of streetcar offered access to the meat processing industry in areas like Swift and Armour for winter employment. IV. The presence of rail enhanced proper access to farmlands located in the southern part of Minnesota that enabled summer work. V. The failure of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) to establish reasonable pay for laborers who are the Mexican immigrants in relation to their counterparts who migrated to the United States illegally. The North American Free Trade Agreement took effect on 1st January 1994. The agreement stated that there would be no tariff goods in trade among states in North America. NAFTA was to reduce the illegal immigration problem of Mexicans into the United States. In this case, the Mexicans would adequately benefit in terms of employment generated by the companies in the United States which would invest in Mexico’s factories. The agreement gave the Mexican government the mandate to build infrastructures such as sanitation facilities, rail roads, and electric plants within the United States. This was to meet the needs of the United States companies within Mexico. The Mexican immigrants did not get the maximum benefits from NAFTA thus found their way into Minnesota for further employment. How Mexican Immigration Helped/ Hindered the States The Mexican immigration into the United States either helped or failed the states. It is because of such effects that Americans would consider how these migrants hindered or helped the states. Such concerns have established a large number of studies of research. These studies have shown that most Mexican migrants generally worked in semiskilled and unskilled jobs for minimum or near minimum wages. They would hold the low paying jobs in every segment of the economy. The Mexican migrants worked as dishwashers, janitors, hotel workers, gardeners, hose cleaners, car washers, and so forth. Normally, migrants never compete with workers who are native for similar jobs. As the study has shown, only two or one out of ten undocumented migrants can take a job that unemployed native would be hired. The prevailing wages were extremely low that no American citizen would wish to earn. In this case, if the immigrants had not been available, most employers in the states would be forced to increase the wage pay to attract the American workers. At such higher wages, many jobs would be filled by the American citizens. The higher the payment in wages, the higher production costs incurred which would skyrocket the consumer prices. Many states would suffer high prices in consumer goods thus suffering inflation. The Mexican migrants would be hired at minimum wages thus reducing costs in production processes. This would enable higher returns within the agricultural sector. Immigration is a topic in the United State which has become quite controversial. However, the country welcomed many immigrants in its formative years. The radical immigration increment from Mexico causes deeper concerns that the immigrants’ influx could hinder the states. I. Poverty: the increased number of immigrants from Mexico into the United States has increased the pool of the unskilled labor force. This included the natives with no high school education. The increased labor supply causes minimum wages. The unskilled production cost effects has negligible effect on consumer prices. The costs on the consumer side thus become constant or rather minimal as the low earning workers increase. In this case, the population of the employed poor increases drastically. A poor population depicts a poor state. II. Domestic spending: the illegal and legal Mexican immigrants in the United States send part of their income to their families leaving in Mexico. The Migration Policy Institute for remittances stated that the money sent to Mexico from the United States, would be the third highest income source for Mexico. It accounted to approximately eight billion dollars per annum. These remittances would not be spent in the United States, providing a reduction in the domestic spending of the consumer. III. Social Programs: due to the low levels of incomes subjected towards the Mexican immigrants, they have higher access to the social programs. These are programs involving rent subsidies, food stamps and Medicaid. Research shows that the program use is approximately 10 percent more with the immigrants from Mexico than the natives. Also, the immigrant households are larger because of the higher rates of fertility, so the costs incurred to pay these programs are probably higher than average. Since many of such programs require legal immigration status and employment to qualify, the income levels of the legal immigrants are low that they do not provide the programs’ payments. This caused disequilibrium for the highly paid American workers. Because of the Mexicans’ low levels in education, they earn considerably less on average than the natives. This offers an immense use of the means tested programs and minimum, average tax payments. The Mexican immigration is a form of subsidy to businesses which employ the semiskilled or unskilled workers. This holds down the costs of labor as the taxpayers pick up the overheads of providing services to populations that earn low incomes and to the poor. The Mexican immigrants’ levels of education persist across generations. The rates in high school dropouts of Mexican Americans are twice more than those of other Native Americans. It is a vital factor that has hindered many states within the U.S. Conclusion The paper has outlined the timeline on how the Mexicans arrived into the United States and made their way into Minnesota. The paper has provided a list of reasons to why the Mexican immigrants made their way up to Minnesota. The paper has also clarified how the immigrants hindered or benefited the states. Nations have the rights to either welcome or reject immigrants as they base on factual reasons or grounds. Bibliography Gilman, Rhonda. The History of Minnesota’s Past. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1989. Norris, Jim. North for the Harvest: Mexican Workers, Growers, and the Sugar Beet Industry. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009. Schaper, Julie, and Horwitz, Steven. Twin Cities Noir. New York: Akashic Books, 2006. Valdes, D. Nodin. Mexicans in Minnesota. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005. Yans-Mclaughlin, Virginia ed. Immigration Reconsidered: History, Sociology, and Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. Read More