History of the Mexico-US border by Daphne Munger

(2) The Evolution of the US-Mexico border over 100 years

daphnemunger — 2023-12-08 22:13:21 UTC

Presented through the scope of controversial and inhumane immigration policy during the Trump presidency, this article and collection of photos details the history of the US-Mexico border and presents the xenophobia and the ongoing struggle to establish a " firm physical boundary to separate the US from Mexico " (Garfield). Pictures range from 1924, when border patrol was officially established, patting down and inspecting incoming migrants, all the way to 2018, in which the border continues to enforce the same tactics it did nearly a century prior. The article also includes photos of several landmark events in the history of the border, including The Great Depression, The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, and Operation Intercept, among others. However, a majority of Mexican migration into the US was caused by US interference in Mexico. " To clear Mexicans from the land, settlers used other tactics, beginning with debt. In Texas, the settler-dominated state legislature raised land taxes to a level that the region’s cash-poor ranchers could not afford, forcing many Mexican landholders either to sell valuable parcels to finance tax payments or to slip into delinquency, which allowed sheriffs to auction off their properties cheaply. " ( Lytle Hernandez 86) Many of these border policies in the coming decades were a result of settler's actions, making many profitable portions of Mexico uninhabitable in favor of American Industry.

(3) A deeper look into the history of the US-Mexico Border

daphnemunger — 2023-12-08 22:14:02 UTC

Originating from the Dedman College of Humanities & Sciences, this source provides a supplemental description of many of the events shown in the last article, while also filling in many of the blanks in between with additional events in the timeline that are often excluded, such as the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty, the completion of the first border fence, Operation Wetback, and many others that aren't mentioned in the prior article. For several decades, the border was very different than how it is in the modern day, with large walls and Border Patrol. In 1904, revolutionaries fleeing Mexico such as " Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magon and Juan Sarabia entered the United States at the port of entry in Laredo, Texas. If U.S. border guards had been notified of their arrival, nothing was done to stop them. In 1904, there were no fences, no concertina wires, no floodlights, and no wall on the border. The Border Patrol would not be established for another two decades. " (Lyttle Hernandez 83). However, many future laws and policies implemented to the border would be influenced by Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to prevent and police their entry into the United States.

❗Learning Task❗

daphnemunger — 2023-12-12 22:08:11 UTC

In this padlet, students will learn about the US-Mexico border and its turbulent history by engaging with various credited sources, ranging from facts to a podcast, photos, and more. By the end of the task, students should have a more complete understanding of the Border, the history of border policy, and its origins stemming from the Us-Mexican war. Students also will gain an understanding of the Mexico-US border and its relation to the Mexican Revolution, as well as its relation to the book " Bad Mexicans " by Kelly Lytle Hernandesz

(1) Quick Facts about the Mexico-US Border

daphnemunger — 2023-12-12 22:08:27 UTC

An archive of George W. Bush's presidential website listing facts about the US-Mexico border. These facts illustrate the state of the border as a key player in the US economy between 2001-2009, raking in on average 650 million per day, with two-thirds of that income coming through Texas entry points. With this information presented, alongside the narrative presented 100 years prior in Bad Mexicans of migrant workers " playing a leading role in hauling more than $34 million each year from Arizona’s copper mines and $216 million from California’s farms and mines, as well as $391 million generated from cattle, cotton, and crops in Texas. " (Lytle Hernandez 85), there is a direct and crucial role that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans have played in building the reputation and scale of the busiest border in the world for at least a decade. Despite this, the border has been used as part of a system of oppression, regulated by the Border Patrol for almost as long as Mexicans and Mexican-Americans have been crossing it in search of job opportunities, taking advantage of workers while abusing and exploiting them for monetary gain.

US Border Guards in 1924, who are patting down Mexicans who are trying to enter the US

daphnemunger — 2023-12-15 17:45:40 UTC

US Border guards inspecting suitcases and bags at the border, many of these people who are coming from Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, Texas

daphnemunger — 2023-12-15 17:47:07 UTC

The Border during The Great Depression. During this time, many Mexicans were at risk of deportation due to increasing hostility towards immigrant workers.

daphnemunger — 2023-12-15 17:47:50 UTC

1969 - Operation Intercept, an operation led by President Nixon which attempted to intercept drugs at the border and led to an almost complete shutdown of the border. After many complaints, the operation was abandoned after 20 days.

daphnemunger — 2023-12-15 17:51:15 UTC

(4) Author Kelly Lyttle Hernandez details the Mexican Revolution and how it affected U.S border policy.

daphnemunger — 2023-12-15 18:26:14 UTC

In an interview with NPR, Kelly Lytle Hernandez, author of " Bad Mexicans " talks about several topics, such as the origin of the name of her book, The Magon Brothers & The Magonistas, and how the Magonistas continued their revolutionary work in the US after becoming fugitives of the Diaz regime in Mexico. She also details the creation of the FBI, and how its original intentions were to spy on the Magonistas and to thwart attempts towards revolution, in which they failed, leading to the Mexican Revolution of 1910. She further goes into detail on how the US created mass migration to the US from Mexico, being the " primary labor force across the American West ". As described in Hernandez's book, Bad Mexicans, " More Mexicans meant more workers, and more workers meant more profits for the booming industries of the American West. Every day hundreds of Mexican immigrants crossed the foot and wagon bridge over the Rio Grande at Laredo without so much as a nod from U.S. border guards. " (Lyttle Hernandez 83). Many white Americans and settlers were opposed to free Black migration, Chinese migration, and committed genocide against Native Americans, and so they turned to Mexicans as a source of cheap, migrant labor.

Through learning about the Magonistas and their effect on Mexican and American history through their revolutionary work, a more complete picture of American History is painted that is often missing from a majority of history classes and American classrooms in general. Had I known about the work of the Magonistas and the Mexican Revolution from a younger age, I would have had a clearer picture of the world around me, especially during my tween and early teenage years while the country was run by the Trump administration.

Works Cited

daphnemunger — 2024-01-16 02:37:37 UTC

Bush, George W. “Quick Facts about the U.S.-Mexico Border.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, 2009, georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/usmxborder/quickfacts.html#:~:text=Quick%20Facts%20about%20the%20U.S.%2DMexico%20Border&text=The%201%2C951%20mile%20U.S.%2DMexico,and%204.3%20million%20truck%20crossings.

Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, SMU. “Timeline.” Texas Mexico Center, www.smu.edu/Dedman/Research/Institutes-and-Centers/Texas-Mexico/About/Timeline. Accessed 15 Jan. 2024.

Garfield, Leanna. “29 Photos That Show the US-Mexico Border’s Evolution over 100 Years.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 24 June 2018, www.businessinsider.com/us-mexico-border-history-photos-2017-4#the-us-established-an-official-border-patrol-in-1924-with-the-goal-of-securing-the-us-mexico-border-in-the-photo-below-american-guards-are-patting-down-mexicans-who-wish-to-enter-the-us-1.

Gross, Terry, and Kelly Lytle Hernandez. “How the Mexican Revolution of 1910 Helped Shape U.S. Border Policy.” Https://Www.Npr.Org/2022/07/05/1109822069/How-the-Mexican-Revolution-of-1910-Helped-Shape-u-s-Border-Policy, NPR, 5 July 2022, Accessed 15 Jan. 2024.

Photos taken from ' 29 photos that show the US-Mexico border's evolution over 100 years '

daphnemunger — 2024-01-16 04:00:48 UTC