The Immigration Myth

Immigration has been a hot issue for the past few years, and recently brought right to the foreground by Arizona's new immigration law. The law allows officers to demand to see legal papers or visas from anyone, whom they deem "looks like an immigrant". The law has sparked outrage from many different political groups, citing that the law promotes racial profiling. But this new development is just the newest chapter in the long story of US-Mexican immigrant relations.

Immigration has always been and will always be the life blood of America. Except the Native Americans, everyone's ancestors came to this country at one point or another. But people like to forget that fact and declare that they are the "true" Americans, while the newest wave of immigrants are somehow less deserving of living here. But immigrants bring with them new ideas, perspectives, and cultures which contribute to the unique quality of America.

American citizens often claim that immigrants threaten to take away their jobs by providing cheap labor. But during many points in history, the US has welcomed cheap labor from Mexican workers. During times of economic prosperity, such as post-WWII and during the Korean War, the US has eased restrictions on Mexican immigrants and allowed them to work in cotton fields in southern Texas. But during times of economic recession, the US has cracked down on Mexican workers. This happened during the recession of 1953-1955, during which time the US deported more than 2,000,000 Mexican workers. Many Mexican-Americans were caught in the chaos of these raids and deported back to Mexico, despite their US citizenship.

The US has a very bipolar and complex relationship with Mexican immigrants. When times are good, the US couldn't care less about the legal status of Mexican workers. But once the US hits a recession, like the one we are in now, laws are tightened up along with border security.

Works Cited:

Rodolfo Acuna's "Occupied America: A History of Chicanos"

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