1. Mexican Immigration
Mexican-American War (1848): 500,000 square miles of new territory (48% of Mexico’s territory)
First Wave: Reunited family members
Second Wave: The Mexican Revolution refugees
Third Wave: 1950’s - Today

2. The First Migrant Workers
Expansion of cattle ranching and fruit production in California (Post-Mexican Mission Secularization)
The migrant worker: Foundation for the development of California’s agricultural industry
The Bracero Program: 4 million Mexicans employed

3. The Bracero Program Demand for manual labor during World War II
Targeted poor, impoverished Mexican communities
Illusion: Making lots of money to send home
Unfair contracts and vague working conditions

4. Bracero Program (Continued)
Braceros became foundation for development of North American agriculture
1964: The end of the Bracero program
U.S. Department of Labor declares Bracero Program as a system of “legalized slavery.”

5. Why are things the way they are? Societal Challenges
Going back…
Mestizaje
Mission Secularization & Californio Landowners (1833)
The Gold Rush (1849)
Disenfranchisement of Mexican-Americans
Loss of political power to Anglo majority
The Foreign Miners’ Tax (1850)
Anti Vagrancy Act of 1855 (Greaser Law)
1855 Act to negate Spanish translations of laws
Poverty in the Mexican-American Community
Loss of land after Mexican-American War
Legal confirmation of land titles

6. Why are things the way they are? Societal Challenges (Cont’d)
Unskilled and semi-skilled labor
Anglo hostility and educational disenfranchisement
Loss of land leading to displacement of Mexicans
Entry of women in domestic labor market
Occupationally disadvantaged men vs. increasingly employed women
Rise of female-headed households
Residential and social segregation
Anti-Mexican segregation
The barrios & colonias (ethnic enclaves)
Developed through force and choice
Traditional extended family and community social life

7. Changing Demographics

8. Changing Demographics (Cont’d)