Chicano Studies 3311 Exam 2

Coyote

Someone who is given money to get immigrants across the US border.

Describe apprehension experiences?

As larger the family gets, the more difficult it is to return after apprehension and deportation. The disruption caused by apprehension can be sometimes severe, with a jail term a possibility.

George I. Sanchez

Author and activist (also President of LULAC) and was known as "the father of the movement for the quality education for Mexican-Americans." Wrote "Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans." Was vocal of the inequity of using IQ tests developed for English-speaking children for evaluation of Spanish-speaking students.

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Created in 1929 in Corpus Christi, by 1940 became the largest Mex/Am civil rights group. A middle class organization (doctors, lawyers, teachers) that stressed assimilation (into the mainstream) and cutoff ties to Mexico in order to advance in society. Created American public image, meetings were in English, active in fighting discrimination, and encouraged Mex/Am to vote. Fought school segregation.

Carlos Castaneda

He was a Mexican-American scholar (before 1960s) and a historian professor in UT Austin. He was an advocate for combating Mexican American discrimination, he was a moderate in race relations, and he wanted to convince people that not accepting Mexican-Americans was un-American. His most known work was "Our Catholic Heritage in Texas."

Immigration and Stabilization Act (1993)

Proposed by Harry Reid (D) and Richard Shelby (R). Restricted immigration to 300,000 a year. Democrats and Republicans at times cooperated on immigration issue. Immigration crossed party lines and republicans wanted more restriction. Provided amnesty to undocumented immigrants.

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986

Provided amnesty to undocumented immigrants and imposed criminal and civil penalties for "knowingly" hiring undocumented immigrants. This attempted to discourage immigration, and forced immigrants to get fake documents such as fake social security numbers.

Repatriation Campaign

Repatriation is sending back or returning to the country of birth, citizenship, or allegiance; it took two forms: voluntary or forced. Mexicans were blamed for the overall economic downturn and targeted Mexicans because of "the proximity of the Mexican border, the physical distinctness of mestizos and easily identifiable barrios". The Mexican government encouraged Mexican national to return by offering incentives such as free land and free train rides. In 2005, CA passed the "Apology Act for the 1930's Mexican Repatriation Program", apologizing for the states governments role in the repatriation.

Deportation Campaign

The Great Depression involved the Deportation Campaign. The first case of deportation occurred in Plymouth Plantation in 1639 which involved pauper aliens. Immigrants would be deported for 36 reasons in the 1930's including epilepsy, carrier of a contagious disease, engaging in prostitution, physically unable to work, convicted of a crime, becoming a public charge, advocating overthrow of the US government, entering the US w/o documents (Mexicans included). Organizations that supported this were the AFL, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and LULAC as they would take jobs from them.

Labor Migrants

Largest number of immigrants. Take low-paying and low skilled jobs.

Citizenship Status (Ethnic Mexicans)*

600,000 in 1930s ?

Foreign Born population

An increase of foreign born immigrants increased to 57% between 1999-2000. . In 1990, 19.8 million; in 2000 31.1 million; in 2010 39.9 million, majority coming from Mexico (11.7 million).

Immigration and Nationality Act (1965)

Also know as the Hart-Cellar Act, abolished an earlier quota system based on national origin and established a new immigration policy based on reuniting immigrant families and attracting skilled labor to the US. This change would greatly change the demographic makeup of the American population as immigrants entering the US under the new legislation came increasingly from other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America as opposed to Europe.

Immigration Acts 1921 and 1924*

Also known as the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 limited the immigration of Europeans fearing that people from southern and Eastern European countries did not adapt well into American society but also threatened it's very existence. The law specified that no more than 3% of the total number of immigrants from any specific country already living in the US in 1919 could migrate to America during any year. The Immigration Act of 1924 (also known as the Johnson Reed Act) limited the number of immigrants allowed into the US through a national origins quota. It also included a provision excluding from entry any alien who by virtue of race or nationality was ineligible for citizenship.

How do immigrants seek the security of legalization?

Besides obtaining fake documents (birth certificates, social security, green cards), immigrants seeks legalization by seeking representation through attorney's and immigration consultants and sometimes notary publics passing off as lawyers.

What are domestic groups?

Consists simply of the people who live together. Sometimes referred to as "those who share a roof" or a household or co-residence group. Domestic groups are typically discussed in terms of composition and structure.

Congreso de Pueblos de Habla Espanola

Established by Luisa Moreno. This group was organized by garment workers, cigar makers, and pecan sellers. Their first meeting was in 1939 where they discussed health, housing, education, segregation and discrimination. Cooperation between Mexican immigrants and Mex/Am. They rejected assimilation. No immigration restriction.

Push-pull Factors

Factors which either forcefully push people into migration or attract them. Examples of push factors are loss of land (haciendas & railroads), food shortages (sugar & coffee for export/ high food prices) and Mexican Revolution. A pull factor is something that attracts migration such as jobs, mining industry, railroads, agriculture and industry.

Immigration Act of 1917

First significant barrier to Mexican immigration. World War I and labor shortage. $8 a head tax on people who wanted to migrate to the US, which most Mexicans could not afford. Literacy tests were also given and again Mexicans could not meet this requirement. WWI labor shortage allowed for Mexicans to be exempt from this law until 1921 so they could fulfill the labor shortage.

What does the author mean by "migration as a part of family history"?

Friends and relatives who have been to the US return and tell stories about what it is like there. Songs often tell the stories of migrating.

What are target earners?

Immigrants leaving home in order to earn money for a specific purpose. Typically desire to earn certain sum then return home after a short period-anywhere from a few months to a couple of years. Common among young, unmarried men and women, who said they left to help their parents.

How do family conflicts encourage immigration?

Immigrants not tolerating family problems and can't tolerate to stay in the same place where things happened. Others leaving due to divorce or internal family conflicts

What are the dissatisfactions with local conditions?

Immigrants that are dissatisfied with their opportunities in the local Mexican economy-some examples being few jobs and money devaluation. This was the most common reason given by both Mexican men and women for coming to the United States.

Immigration Settlement Patterns

In the 1930's, Texas had the most (600,000) Mexicans followed by CA (368,000) and AZ (114,000). 50% lived n the cities mostly in LA, San Antonio, and El Paso. Some settled in the Midwest (Detroit in the car factories and Chicago in the railroads and slaughterhouses).

How do immigrants reduce the chances of being apprehended?

Keep their cars clean, how you dress and appearance of being nervous. Avoid going to the hospital.

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)*

Major welfare reform. The bill was a cornerstone of the republican Contract with America. It also instituted Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and was heralded as a reassertion of Americas work ethic.

What does the author write about marriage?

Many undocumented immigrants meet their future spouses in the US as many came to the U.S single.

American G.I. Forum

Mex/Am veterans founded this organization in 1948 in Corpus Christi. The organization devoted its energy to combating discrimination against Mexican/Americans. Initially, however, veterans created this organization to secure benefits from the GI Bill, such as housing, healthcare and education. The GI forum gained prominence when a funeral parlor refused to handle the body of an Mexican American soldier, Felix Longoria, who was killed in the Phillipines. This greatly angered Mex/Am-the idea that a war hero could not be buried in his own hometown.

Americo Paredes

Mexican/American author/linguist/scholar (UT-Austin) who authored "With His Pistol in His Hand" (1958) critiquing the Texas Rangers and founded the Center for Mexican American Studies at UT-Austin.

What are networks, clusters, and daughter communities?

Networks are contacts [relatives (parientes, comrades (camaradas), fellow countryfolk (paisanos), trusted friends (amigos de confianza), and neighbors (vecinos)] in which immigrants can rely on each other for help during times of unemployment and when other crises strike, especially apprehension by immigrant authorities. Clusters refers to people from a similar place live near each other, often in the same apartment complex or in the same neighborhood or at least in the same city. Daughter communities consists of people who are all from the same "parent" village or town back home. Migrants from the same community sometimes even form organizations to help the village back home for example to build a church or improve a road.

Old vs New Immigrants

Old immigrants we're white and Europeans in the late 1800s (Greeks, Italians, and Russians/South and Eastern Europe) New Immigrants were all immigrants post 1965 that included immigrants of color and from Third World countries. Both settled in urban areas, were concentrated in a few cities, and were willing to accept low paying jobs.

What does the author mean when he states that immigrants migrate for adventure and curiosity?

Some undocumented immigrants migrate simply for adventure and to satisfy curiosity about what life is like in the United States.

Sources of Immigration

Sources of migration included having aspirations and expectations that could not be met in Mexico. Poverty alone could not make up all the reasons why immigrants would migrate. It takes initiative, resources, willingness to take risks, and skills to migrate to the U.S.

Emma Tenayuca

Tejana labor organizer and communist. Began her career as a senior in high school. Gained national prominence in 1938 by leading a pecan shelling strike in San Antonio (paid $2 a week). Employers justified low wages by saying if Mexican got paid more they would spend on tequila and on worthless trinkets in the dime stores.

According to John Annerino, what are the dangers of crossing the border?

The hot desert, animals, dehydration, being captured by Border Patrol, drug cartels, hunger.

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA)*

The illegal immigration bill primarily covered border enforcement and deportation. The bills were later combined in each house only to be split again after a heated grass roots lobbying effort. The logic behind combining the bills was that the more controversial legal immigration bill would have an easier time passing of tied to the much more popular illegal immigration bill. Finally, the legal immigration bills in each house were defeated, though a number of provisions affecting legal immigration ended up in the illegal immigration bill. After numerous delays including a threatened Senate filibuster and presidential veto over the issue of barring illegal immigrant children access to public schools, the bill was bundled with a crucial budget bill needed to prevent a shutdown of the government. Last minute compromises were worked out over some of the most controversial provisions including deleting the provisions affecting school children and the bill became law. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) represents an effort by Congress to strengthen and streamline U.S. immigration laws. The Act was designed to improve border control by imposing criminal penalties for racketeering, alien smuggling and the use or creation of fraudulent immigration-related documents and increasing interior enforcement by agencies charged with monitoring visa applications and visa abusers.

Migration Network

These would encourage migration. Immigrants would send information back home on jobs, wages and housing. This was not exclusive to Mexicans.

What are the implications of being arrested?

They can be escorted out of the country or can exercise their right to a hearing in front of a immigration judge to argue for a suspension of deportation. Voluntary deportation is not considered a formal deportation, it is not held against the individual at a later date should they try to become a legal immigrant . Oftentimes, temporary migrants take a voluntary departure and then attempt to recross the border as soon as possible.

Salvatierra v ISD (1930)

This case dealt with school segregation in Del Rio, TX. Petitioners claimed that schools were segregated based on race, therefore it was unconstitutional. On the other hand, the school district stated that segregation was for education purposes. Their arguments included: (1) in order to teach English, (2) Mex-Americans were older than whites so this would create problems, (3) they would attend school after fall harvest. The lower court was in favor of petitions. However, when it was appealed in the higher courts, they sided with the school.

Bracero Program (1942-1964)

This program originated during WWII (1942) to meet labor demands due to an expansion of agriculture in the southwest, signed between FDR and Manuel Avila Camacho in 1942. Another reason was because people were moving from rural to urban areas. As a result, growers looked to Mexico to ease the labor shortages in the southwest. Approximately 4.8 million Mexican national participated in the program. Mexico national would sign contracts to work in the US and the growers would provide housing, transportation and work. Was opposed by LULAC and the American GI forum because it would jobs away from Mex/Am. Ended in 1964 with no opposition from the growers because they could get labor even cheaper through undocumented immigrants.

Vela v ISD (1928)

This was an administrative issue where Felipe Vela attempted to enroll his daughter Amada in a white school. She was denied admittance because they believed that she needed to learn English in a Mexican school. However, this created a problem, because Amada already knew English. This was appealed to the Senate, but they refused to reverse decision. This case had ver little impact.

What does the author mean by "home is a refuge"?

To create some sense of security is their home which become a retreat, a place of refuge, a sanctuary in which they are less visible than on the streets or at work.

What does the author mean by transnational families and reunited families?

Transnational families refers to families with one or more members in the US and one or more members "back home" in another country. Reunited families refers to one family member leaves to the US for work then after a period of time, is joined by their family.

What is meant by the "immigrant's dream"?

Undocumented immigrants view the US as the land of opportunity, where the streets are paved with gold and where hard work and sacrifice can earn them upward mobility at least for their children if not for themselves. They believed the U.S would allow them to make progress, better themselves economically, and be able to surpass their current situation or circumstances.

What are binational familes?

Undocumented immigrants who stay and form a family in the US, either by bringing family to join them or by marrying someone they met here. They are typically young and in the family-formation period of their lives.

Women Immigrants

Women sold bonds, for example, to raise funds for the war. Women helped ease the labor shortage caused by men entering the military. Women worked in industry, some in defense plants. They also worked in railroads. Most, however worked in less lucrative plants such as food processing. Mexican American women, like Mex/Am men, also faced job discrimination.

What does the author say about female immigrants?

Women's reasons for migration are similar to men's. However, for some women, economic motives are complicated by a relationship with a man. Others migrate to the US to escape or avoid a relationship. Also some was to escape society's harsh judgment of them as "abandoned women" and mothers with children out of wedlock. They also believed that the U.S provided more job opportunities for women that could be found in Mexico.