Mexican Immigrants II 1910 s El Paso Texas major point of immigration just across the border Early 1900 s easy border crossing 1910 s more elite whites moved in to el paso fears about the mexican revolution 1910 1920 jan 1916 Pancho Villa killed 17 American Engineers Riots 20 mexicans rounded up and imprisoned for riots Bathed in Kerosene to remove lice one prisoner lit a match and started a big fire typhus disease spreading lice The Bath Riots 1916 4 deaths from typhus in El Paso Mexicans were cast as dirty and diseased Quarantine and disinfection Jan 23 1917 The Bath Riots Carmerlita Torres lead bath riots mexican 200 women protested threw rocks at Americans Failed quarantine requirements continued The Quarantine Process separated by sex forced to strip clothes sterilized checked for lice showered with kerosene vaccinated for small pox interrogated to see if they had mental defects commuters had to go through the process over and over again Quarantines and Pesticides sprayed mexicans with DDT DDT was very poisonous The Great Depression 1930 s only 30 000 Mexicans immigrated Market forces lack of jobs Government actions hoover called for strict interpretation of immigration rules LPC likely to become a public charge Repatriation campaign Agriculture Strikes employers thought they could take advantage of Mexicans Great Depression Mexican laborers organizing more 1933 12 000 Mexican laborers went on strike San Joaquin Valley CA Employers evicted them and had leader arrested resulted in a compromise wage from 60 cents to 75 cents Great depression railroads offered jobs and mobility mexican americans moved to urban areas nativism and social tension Railroads Stereotypes some based on African American stereotypes lazy and backward dirty diseased greasers wetbacks juvenile delinquents The sleepy lagoon murder August 1942 Jose Diaz dead in L A Gang fights in the area police rounded up Mexican youths greaser stereotype 17 young men convicted appealed and freed growing racial tension police beat them up before court appearance to fit into the greaser stereotype The Zoot Suit young mexican american men from african american jazz culture Bold and outrageous Questioning Patriotism sailors saw zoot suit as unpatriotic war rationing pachucos gangs and petty crimes The Zoot Suit Riots not Riots for 5 days such as paratroopers Bracero Agreement june 4 1943 Sailors attacked Mexican Americans and didnt matter if they wore zoot suits or Mexican American Servicemen less than 10 of Mexican American young men were pachucos 500 000 Mexican americans served in WWII Wanted to prove their patriotism and had served in very dangerous branches 1942 emergency farm labor bracero agreement low wages ended in 1964 5 million braceros Operation Wetback 1954 president Eisenhower worried about mexican illegal immigrants immigration and naturalization services INS deported over 1 million mexican immigrants and some U S citizens
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