Status Updates From Decade of Betrayal: Mexican...

“As in the 1930s, events beyond political control may again end the controversy. In this instance…it will be the ravages of old age. The population of the US over 65 is aging twice as fast as the general population…the US will be forced to import a labor force.”

“One can only speculate what might have been achieved in the intervening period if the Mexican community had not been devastated by the massive travesty unleashed against it. In truth, that may well constitute the ultimate tragedy of the anti-Mexican movement during the Great Depression.”

Losing 1/3 of the Mexican population of the United States robbed them of community leaders and a generation of young intelligent minds that “stifled the socioeconomic development of the community.” Makes the case for why the Chicano movement couldn’t occur until 25 years later — something I’ve never considered before

“the failure to speak out in behalf of the Mexican community remains a black, irredeemable blot on the record of the American press.”

“While legal justification could be made for getting rid of unwanted aliens, it was an entirely different matter to deprive American citizens of their constutional rights solely because of the accident of birth. Instead of protesting, the media acquiesced in the despicable action by commending authorities for their zeal and success in getting rid of as many Mexicans as possible.”

“With the willing convivance of the Labor Department and the Immigration Service, and the collaboration of police and the court system, trumped-up charges were used to justify deporting Mexicans who advocated ending discrimination, better working conditions or desegregated schools.”

“Bearing the traumatic burden of being shipped ‘back’ to Mexico were those least able to cope with their plight: the children. Shipping them to Mexico so they could be ‘with their own kind’ was absolutely absurd. Although if Mexican ancestry, they considered themselves to be Americans and many spoke only a limited amount of Spanish.”

“In 1942 another minority group, the Japanese, also learned the bitter lesson that constitutional guarantees are meaningless when mob hysteria is accorded institutional or legal status.” OOF

“The foregoing work chronicles the tragedy of a people who, in spite of being maligned and mistreated by American society, refused to surrender to adversity. Like other immigrant groups, they were proud of the contributions they made to their adopted country.”

Private First Class Guy Louis Gabaldon singlehandedly captured more than one thousand Japanese on the island of Saipan — among the valiant book

“The treatment accorded them and their families during the previous decade had aroused bitter feelings and resentment. Why fight for a country that had turned its back n you and yours when you needed her most? To their credit, the vast majority of Mexicans and Mexican Americans chose to do their duty.”

“Some families lost loved ones on both segments of the journey, according to the National Catholic Welfare Conference, which chronicled the experiences of various families.”

“Upon returning to Ciudad Juarez, the Sanchez family was refused visas to enter the United States even though 10 of 14 children were American born…tragically before he could retrieve his family, the youngest daughter Catalina died of malnutrition.”

“Much to their dismay, welfare recipients who had agreed to leave ‘voluntarily’ had conveniently neglected to inform them of this critical point. Most repatriates were under the impression that they would be eligible to return to the United States as soon as economic conditions improved.”

“A repatriate from Idaho who had returned to Penjamo, Guanajuato remarked, ‘I can’t understand how many of these people live here. There’s no industry, nothing but agriculture and that’s no good — no irrigation, just raising corn once a year.” In “A field study in Mexico of the Mexican Repatriation Movement by James C Gilbert USC 1934

“The newspaper bemoaned the fact that Mexicans were returning from ‘the promised land’ with their pockets empty and their stomachs sticking to their ribs. The scathing article accused the US of lacking any moral character.”

“They were not allowed to forget that they had been rejected —kicked out — by the land of their birth, and were actually kids without a country.”

“One prominent Los Angeles banker, Mr. K. Hingson, revealed that Mexicans who had departed from the Western United States
during 1931 had withdrawn more than seven million dollars from local banks.”

“He expressed his genuine concern for social justice and fair treatment. Consul de la Colina resented how agriculturalists and industrialists viewed the Mexican worker. They saw him, he averrred, ‘as docile beast of burden, hardworking, economical and cheap.’ As a result the ‘welfare of the Mexican is never the concern of the Anglo community except when it affects the efficiency of his labor.’”

“Why were relative newcomers to the from Europe being treated better than Mexicans whose ancestral roots went back to the exploration and settlement of much of the southern portion of the country?”

“After repeated trips to the train station to see their relatives and neighbors off, resentment began to mount in the colonias. Why, many angrily demanded were there no train loads or caravans of other aliens leaving? Why weren’t other foreigners being rounded up and repatriated?”

“Belatedly, the establishment began to realize that Mexicans were not only producers whose work benefitted the entire society; they were also consumers of goods and services who contributed to the economic well-being of the community.”