The Spanish Speaking Newspapers - Research Paper Example

Thesis Statement: An analysis of the stories highlighted by the Spanish speaking newspapers in El Paso in 1880-1930: Reviewing the world view of the immigrant generation. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 History of Immigrants El Paso 4 The issues Facing Immigrants 4 The Worldview of Immigrants 6 Discrimination and stereotypes 6 Mexican Americans Segregation versus the African Americans segregation 7 Conclusion 7 Introduction The USA is country which has the highest number of immigrants from all over the world in the past and even currently can be argued to be the most attractive country to immigrants. Most of this immigration has been illegal and as such immigrants use illegal means to get into the country.1 In the history of USA immigrationhistory, there were people who took the job of helping individuals get across the border so as to get into the USA job market. In the 1880 up to about 1930 there were massive illegal migrations by Mexican workers into the USA, ignoring and going against all the migration procedure set up by the two countries. These happenings were heavily reported on in the newspapers. The paper aims at analyzing the stories the Spanish language newspapers highlighted, thereafter analyzing the world view of the immigrant generation. History of Immigrants El Paso Back in 1976 and even before the authorities in El Paso denied entry to a large number of people who wanted to enter the United States. This denial leads to the development of guides who helped people to enter the country illegally. 2The denial to entry was mostly based on health and also the fear of the immigrant becoming a cost to the state. In 1910, a year marked with strong demand for workers, a newspaper reported that in the town of Ciudad Juarez, many individuals who wanted to search for jobs in the US were denied entry. These ended up becoming public beggars as they had set all their hope to the United States. The issues Facing Immigrants In the 1917,the immigrants were allowed to enter the country freely with the new immigration act of the 1917.However the stipulations set by the country were difficult as set up a head tax for the immigrants which became a barrier since most of these immigrants were poor and could not afford it. In the following year, the Mexican coal miners and rail workers were offered a waiver on the head tax due to their shortage in the sector. 3The sectors who benefited from this waiver had agreements with the Labor Department in the US to extend this waiver up to the year 1921.Before the waiver were allowed, workers tried to enter the US through Texas. Slayden when writing of the situation in Texas during this period of policy changes in the US reported that the inspection laws put across by the Immigration Act did not reduce the illegal immigration into the country according to him. He expressed concerns on the increase of the network of people helping the immigrants to enter the country illegally (Slayden ,1921). The stories that surrounded the immigration of people in the US were of the difficulties that an individual encountered and how the immigrants were forced to pay a significant amount of money so as to be able to get access to the country. There is a story run by the newspapers of the couple who paid 110 dollars, expressed as per the value of the dollar today, so as to gain access to the country. The stories covered also involved the huge profits made by individuals who connected the immigrants illegally in to the country (Spener ,2004).The head tax imposed by the government through the labor department was put to control the number of immigrants in the country. Despite all these restrictions the US and Mexico had an agreement known as the Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo of the 1848 which had given rights to the people of Mexico to occupy the newly acquired US territory of the South West and the Mexican Americans could be legally considered as whites (Samora, 1971).The newly acquired white legality was mainly legal and the Mexican Americans did not really in reality consider themselves white. The Worldview of Immigrants The Mexicans were considered as a threat to Americans both when it comes to the US economy or even its culture. The Anglos in the real sense did not differentiate the Mexicans and the Mexican Americas and as such treated them the same way. The Mexican Americans were put in their own schools andwhere was an increase in them being denied many rights which a white American was given. They started being treated as the Africans America with inadequate educational resources and institutions, were kept away from the restaurants so as to avoid and minimize their interactions with the other Americans. They were also segregated in bathrooms and showers and also were not allowed to live in the white’s neighborhood. Thus even though the Mexican Americans were legally whites they were not treated as such and they did not enjoy the right and privileges that came with the title (Corwin ,1973).This legal status of being a white often worked against them as the argument of being racially discriminated did not work for them as they were legally white despite any form of evidence to illustrate racial discrimination (Halsell ,1978). Discrimination and stereotypes Throughout the US history, Mexican Americas have continuously been given negative stereotypes which the media has enforced and encouraged. They have endured discrimination based on race, culture, ethnicity, poverty and also the use of the Spanish language.4(Garcia, Mexicans in the Midwest,1990-1932 1996)Most of the illegal immigrants of the USA were from the Latin America and these have caused many immigration raids by the USA tot the Mexican Americans. During the World War II, the Mexican A Americans served in the war but after the war was over they were discriminated against and were not given access to medical services when they came back home (Lewis ,1979). Mexican Americans Segregation versus the African Americans segregation Historically the African Americans have been documented as the immigrants who faced the worst treatment ever than any other group. However the Mexican Americans faced segregation even after earning their rights as whites after the Treaty of Guadalupe which marked the end of the Mexican American War in the 1984 (Reich, 1991).They were treated as the Africans America with inadequate educational resources and institutions, were kept away from the restaurants so as to avoid and minimize their interactions with the other Americans (Samora, 1971).They were also segregated in bathrooms and showers and also were not allowed to live in the white’sneighborhood and ended up overcrowded in a certain area. 5Thus even though the Mexican Americans were legally whites they were not treated as such and they did not enjoy the right and privileges that came with the title. This segregation was also evident in their representation in the service of the jury, this came even when they were legally allowed to participate in the jury. Mechanisms such as literacy tests, the jury commission, and poll taxes were used to segregate them (Reich ,1991). Conclusion Back from the days of their migration into the USA, the Mexican Americans have been faced with segregations and stereotypes that have held up to now, however minimal. In the past when they were migrating the immigration process was unfair as they paid money to get into the country even after the agreements made by the two countries. After the war of the 1984 between the Americans and the Mexican, they were allowed and settled in the South West US territory and were given legal rights just like any other whites in the country (Perez ,1991).However, the rights were just legal but not real as they were continuously discriminated against. In case of a law suit, the case was always dismissed on the grounds that they cannot suffer from racial discriminations since under law they were also whites (Slayden ,1921). The Mexican Americans even in the recent past have often been faced with the problem of immigration raids. They have also been faced with the problem of overcrowding and this has been greatly associated with the issues of segregation and immigration. As immigrants they tend to move in with their friends and relatives.The paper analyses the events that took place after the migrations in to the USA and the different issues that they were faced with. Bibliography Corwin, A. "Causes of Mexican Emigration to the United States." Perspectives in American History, 1973: 558-559. Corwin, A.F. "Causes of Mexican Emigration to the United States." Perspectives in A merica History, 1973: 558-559. Davis, M.P. Mexican Voices,American Dreams. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1990. Garcia, J. Mexicans in the Midwest,1990-1932. Tucson: University of Arizona, 1996. Garcia, R. Desert Immigrants:The Mexicans of the El paso. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981. Halsell, G. The Illegals. New York: Stein and Day, 1978. Leo, G.,Moore,J,W. The Mexican American People,the Nationals Second Largest Minority. New York: Free Press, 1970. Lewis, S. Slave Trade Today. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979. Maggie, R. Mexican Americans and World War Two. New York: University of Texas Press, 2005. Perez, R. Diary of an Undocumented Immigrant. Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1991. Reich, R. The Works of Nation:Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism. New York: Knopf, 1991. Samora, J. The Wetback Story. Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1971. Simmons, O.G. Anglo-American and Mexican-Americans in South Texas. New York: Arno Press, 1974. Slayden, J. "Some Observations on Mexican Immigration." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Sosial Science, 1921: 121-126. Spener, D. "Mexican Migrant-Smuggling:A Cross-Border Cottage Industry." Journal of International Migration and Intergration, 2004: 259-320. Read More