The 1930s Repatriado: The Mass Deportation of People of Mexican Ancestry

This episode of The Reality Dysfunction is a special presentation of Mexicanos 2070. The description for the talk is below. 

 

Mexicanos2070 will host Elena Herrada, a Detroit activist to talk about the issue of the repatriation of Mexicans after the Great Depression.

 

The U.S. used the Mexican community as a convenient scapegoat from the economic devastation of the Depression. No other immigrant groups were being targeted for repatriation. By enacting laws depriving Mexicans of employment, mandating restrictive immigration policies and supporting deportation at the federal, state and local level, Americans became reassured in their endeavors of a more open job market. Due to these conditions in the U.S.

 

The reason that this topic holds importance among the other aspects of Latino history is that it is something that the U.S. has chosen to forget. The vitality of this topic also poses the idea that something like this could happen again regarding the future of Mexican immigrants in the United States. It is the goal of Repatriation history to reveal the dynamic relationship of our past with modern day.  

 

The video featured at the beginning of the podcast can be watched here.