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Mexican Americans are Americans that have full or partial Mexican heritage. The first influx of Mexican Americans coming to the U.S. was in 1848, following the end of the Mexican War, and it was actually against their will. The Mexican War was won by the U.S. and Mexico was forced to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, giving away Texas and California, as well as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico. All the Mexican citizens living in these territories immediately became American residents, whether they liked it or not. It also didn't help that in previous years leading up to 1848, gold had been discovered in California and the population of Mexicans more than doubled to 14,000 people.
While Mexican Americans' primary focus while fighting for civil rights was pretty broad, they were quite focused on equal education, job opportunities, ethnic stereotypes, and immigration laws. Their movement was known as the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, and Mexican Americans worked hand-in-hand with Black Activist groups to fight for equal rights. With the creation of the 14th amendment, Mexican Americans had solved most of these problems legally, even though they would still face racism until the present day. However, immigration laws are still a very controversial topic even now. While both sides of this argument make fair points, our law will be in the best interest of not only Mexican immigrants, but immigrants from all countries.
Article: Foreign Immigration Policy

Section 1: All immigrants have the right to live in and become citizens of the U.S. with no previous criminal records.
1. A: immigrants with criminal records will be allowed a hearing to determine if they can gain entry to the U.S. Severity of criminal history and current behavior will be taken into account.
1. B: if needed, immigrants will be placed in a special program that will provide basic food and shelter, language classes, and help with finding a job until the resident is able to live on his own.
1. C: immigrants taking advantage of the program are susceptible to being removed from the program.

Section 2: All immigrants under the age of 18 unaccompanied by a parent or guardian will be accepted regardless of criminal history.
2. A: immigrants will be allowed to enter the program with the possibility of adoption if wanted.
2. B: immigrants under the age of 18 aren't susceptible to being removed from the program
2. C: A disciplinary course will be provided to those with a criminal history. The length of this course is determined by the severity of the criminal history.

Section 3: All people born in the U.S. from illegally immigrated parents are allowed full citizenship and are not considered foreigners.
3. A: any illegal immigrants that have come to the U.S. thus far can apply for citizenship and will not face consequences.

We believe that people born in places that do not have as equal of opportunities as the United States have a right to seek better opportunities by coming to the United States. This law provides a scenario where as many people as possible that are willing to contribute to society will be allowed into the U.S. while at the same time still looking out for people that may hurt society.

https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/mexican/becoming-part-of-the-united-states/

https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197398/

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The Gadsden Purchase is a roughly 27,000 square-mile patch of land as shown above in Southern Arizona and New Mexico. Initiated by the signature of James Gadsden, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, the respective territory became U.S. soil practically overnight. This caused all the citizens within to become U.S. citizens. This introduction of Mexican citizens opened up many issues with regard to employment and taxes.

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Between the dates of September 14th and 22nd, a group known as El Primer Congreso Mexicanista, or the First Mexican Congress, held a meeting in which they discussed a range of issues and proposed solutions on topics such as segregation, labor exploitation, and economic disparities. The meeting gained public recognition through a local newspaper written in Spanish called La Crónica. This event was perhaps the first to acknowledge the social inequality that Mexican Americans faced.

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A series of agreements between the United States and Mexico between 1942 and 1964 made it legal for temporary workers, braceros, to work in the U.S. About 4.5 million workers came to the U.S., and most either worked on farms or railroads. The legal title for these agreements was the Mexican Farm Labor Program. The artifact adjacent to this slide is the aftermath of these agreements. This was important as it was the beginning of the relations between Mexican laborers and America.

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An analysis of the Mexican Revolution. This newspaper line and page were quite critical of both the American and Mexican governments as they were cautious about letting the newspaper air. The paper was made to denounce the major figures of government and to wake people up to their wrongdoings.

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Artifact - Demand Return Fare for Mexican Labor

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Artifact - Demand Return Fare for Mexican Labor

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After being brought to America to help with work and labor, Mexican laborers didn't have the funds to get home. America hadn't thought about getting them home, and the Mexican laborers demanded a solution

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Founded in 1962 in California the United Farm Workers Union was designed to protect and advocate for the Farm Workers and farmers who were largely Hispanic, this was done through activities like marches and boycotts of products and gained wages and labor contracts and better working conditions. With the farmers being one of the most important groups of people in the country and also being largely Hispanic, this group is significant as it passionately advocates for them.

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The East Los Angeles walkouts occurred to protest the disproportionate numbers in the statistics surrounding Mexican school kids compared to Anglo school kids. These walkouts intended to represent those Mexican kids who struggled after dropping out of high school or graduating but only at an eighth-grade reading level.  After the success of the protests, the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee (EICC) was formed to combat these issues.

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Supreme Court Decision delivered by Chief Justice Earl Warren. Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954). "Hernández v. Texas: A Legacy of 60 Years," by Francisco Macías (In Custodia Legis Blog: May 5, 2014). Law Library of Congress.
The court decision that gave Pete Hernandez Life in prison from an all Anglo-American Jury

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1968 - The creation of the Young Lords Party

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1968 - The creation of the Young Lords Party

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Inspired by the Black Panther party (BPP) the Young Lords was created in Chicago Illinois by what was originally a Latin American street gang but grew into a more organized social rights group. The group was multi-ethnic and advocated for any minority group, not just Hispanic Americans. The YLP gained popularity relatively quickly as it soon spread to other major cities like New York City. The formation of the YLP was a major step for Hispanic and Latin Americans as the party broadened its borders to include other marginalized groups which allowed for more representation.

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In the midst of the Vietnam war, in East LA, Hispanic citizens performed a moratorium protest on the war and all Mexican Americans fighting in it. They displayed sympathy for the disproportionate amount of Mexican soldiers drafted and killed compared to other races. They also protested other discrepancies that they faced with regard to subjects like employment and education. The protest began peacefully but became violent when the LA sheriff's department arrived and caused controversies. This protest was significant as it resulted in the death of three people evidently gaining national recognition.

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1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act

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1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act

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During his presidency, Ronald Reagan signed into law both the Immigration Reform and Control Act which put into place criminal penalties for employers who willingly hire illegal aliens for positions of employment. The reform also led to legalization opportunities for illegals already in the country. This essentially added another 'security check' for the process of citizenship that helped gain an estimated three million Hispanic-descended people American citizenship.

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Mexican-Americans, much like blacks, have made huge steps towards gaining true equality in the U.S. from previous centuries. However, unlike most other Mexican Americans still face a huge immigration problem. between the 2000 immigrants that arrive at the U.S. border per day, and the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S. (48% of which are Mexican), America's immigration policy has been a controversial topic that has yet to be solved. Our law aims to solve most of these issues because we believe in equal opportunity and the chance to restart. Our law would give as many immigrants a chance as possible that we believe would provide to the U.S. Our law would protect parentless children who deserve a chance at life. And our law would try to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. by giving them citizenship for their own and America's safety. Mexican Americans have fought enough for their rights, especially equal opportunity, and these laws would bring them one step closer to what they fight for.
There are obviously a lot of logistics that would go into a plan like this, the biggest problems being funding and management. This law, with the plan for a special program that would provide housing and food, would have to account for at least 1,000 new arrivals a day. This would cost the government millions a year. The other problem is management and personnel, while the program would open up plenty of new job opportunities, there would have to be judges constantly having hearings for people either applying for citizenship or needing the approval to enter the county with a criminal history. However, these are obstacles that are possible to overcome if the government wanted to.

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Background Slide:

U.S. Government. "Becoming part of the United States." Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/mexican/becoming-part-of-the-united-states/

U.S. Government. "The Chicano Civil Rights Movement." Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197398/

photo credit:
Bacich, Damian. "The Mexican-American War: Map of Mexico prior to Texas independence." The California Frontier Project. https://www.californiafrontier.net/mexican-american-war/

Conclusion Slide:

"Profile of the Unauthorized Population: United States." Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state/US

"Legal Immigration and Adjustment of Status Report Fiscal Year 2022, Quarter 2." Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/special-reports/legal-immigration

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Photo slide 1: Wikipedia. 2023. "Gadsden Purchase." Wikimedia Foundation. Last modified January 28, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase.

Copy

Regeneracion Artifiact:
“Regeneracion. This Is Your Cause; That of Each One of You.” The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/rbpe.17601900/.

Demand Return Fare Artifact:
Humanities, National Endowment for the. “Mohave County Miner and Our Mineral Wealth. [Volume] (Kingman, Ariz.) 1918-1922, July 31, 1920, Page Page Six, Image 6.” News about Chronicling America RSS, W.G. Damon, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn96060547/1920-07-31/ed-1/seq-6/.

1942 slide:
“Bracero Program.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bracero-Program.

1911 slide:
U.S. Government. "1911: Meeting of the Mexicanist Congress." Library of
Congress. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://guides.loc.gov/

1962 Slide:

U.S. Government. "1962: United Farm Workers Union" Library of Congress. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://guides.loc.gov/

1968 slide:
U.S. Government. "1968: East Los Angeles Walkouts" Library of Congress. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://guides.loc.gov/

1968 slide 2:
U.S. Government. "1968: The Young Lord's Organization/Party" Library of
Congress. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://guides.loc.gov/

1970 Slide:
U.S. Government. "1970: National Chicano Moratorium" Library of
Congress. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://guides.loc.gov/

1986 slide:

U.S. Government. "1986: Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986" Library of
Congress. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://guides.loc.gov/