The Mexican immigration generation in the early 1900s provided a strong definition of how colonized labor, the Mexicans categorized as a minority group, and immigration’s social and economic consequence on the advent of Latin Americans. The Mexicans, for instance, is an established minority group in America and has experienced various changes in their lives as well as in how society treats them after immigration. The historical implication of migration often relates to social, economic, and political issues that affected the immigrants’ way of life, causing discrepancies, especially in the attribution of rights and freedoms in the United States. The Mexican immigration generation in the early 1900s depicts how colonized labor, which has captured the interest of Mexicans to low-paying jobs and low-income communities have come to happen, as well as its social, economic and political impact on the minority group.
The Railroad Attraction
During the start of the 20th century, America is increasingly becoming a popular country for immigration simply because of the abundance of work and employment opportunities. As a rising capitalist country, America continues to use innovation and advancement to integrate a wealthy and democratic society. This is observed in a highly prosperous national economy, the stock trade is good, and businesses are flourishing in the country (Gonzalez 10). Moreover, the integration of faster transportation enables the transport of goods from one place to another important in expanding American businesses towards wealth and success in the social and economic dimensions of the society.
New and emerging businesses in the U.S. southwest, particularly around mining and agriculture, as well as the development of railroad tracks, increased the flow of Mexican migration in America. Despite the half-century annexation of Texas in 1945, Mexicans were reluctant to migrate into America. This changed in the turn of the 20th century when Mexican political leaders sought exile in America to avoid violence, and this expanded even to rural Mexicans who want to have a different life (Gonzalez 12). Moreover, the attraction to low-paying jobs to avoid poverty in Mexico also prompted the first wave of Mexican immigration in the early 1900s (Gonzalez 12). Stable employment, peaceful communities, and protection from violence were the main attractions that the Mexicans have become interested in, thus showing a sharp rise in immigration to the U.S.
The development of the railroad in the southwest has opened new channels for economic development and employment in the region, which further made the area attractive for immigration. This enabled more Mexicans to seek stable employment and income by working in the railroad tracks, despite the rather low-paying labor that resulted in low-income communities. The issue of colonized labor, for instance, has become an issue in the first wave of Mexican migration. The railroad development also prompted male Mexicans to migrate to the U.S. and establish colonias in areas such as Kansas City, Chicago, Utah, Detroit, Oklahoma, Minneapolis, San Francisco and in Washington (Gonzalez 23). These areas provided a strong wave of Mexican immigration in the early 1900s and caused the influx of Mexicans in America.
The attraction to stable employment and protection from violence prompted the Mexicans to migrate to the U.S. during the early 1900s, but this is not without social and political issues. For instance, the issue of colonized labor is one of the primary concepts that were established regarding the huge wave of Mexican immigrants who work in the development of the American railroads in the turn of the century. According to Gonzalez, colonized labor was fully established among Mexican immigrants because they are not paid properly and were given unsanitary living conditions while working in America (45). What is worse is that there is the concept of indentured labor, wherein the Mexican immigrants were paid according to their projects but were never regularized or given proper compensation (Gonzalez 78). The concept of colonized labor thus made a strong social, economic, and political implication on how the current problems faced by Mexican Americans continue to experience.
Implications of Immigration
To avoid the violence of the Mexican Revolution and to gain stable employment, Mexicans chose to migrate to the United States. However, this action created dimensions of social, economic, and political issues, which made the current placement of Mexican Americans in the U.S. problematic. One instance is the diverse and contradictory stereotypes of Mexican immigrants. The simplified definition of Mexican Americans for labor and for protection has created a variety of social problems within the American society regarding the Mexicans such as low-income communities that affects poverty, lack of education opportunities and health benefits, as well as the extension of violence that they once tried to avoid in their own country (Munoz 12). This caused significant issues relating to the Chicano history in America and thus reveals that there is a deep social problem that was created over America’s oversimplification of the Mexican immigration for lower labor that only benefitted them.
Another implication of Mexican immigration to the current society is the political implications that immigration policies have against the minority group. Latinos currently experience various discrepancies in how American immigration policies make it difficult for them to acquire the benefits they have worked for and are in constant threats of being deported despite having generations of immigrants living in America (Bada and Gleeson 37). The case of undocumented Mexicans in the American workforce and market causes policies and enforcement that may endanger the lives of these workers as well as the threat of being deported (Bada and Gleeson 38). The issue is part of the social and political dimension that has often made immigrants gain less benefit and lesser treatment in American society just because of discriminatory policies against the minorities.
The Mexican migrants also experience a wide array of vulnerabilities that make them easy targets for racial profiling and labeling in the American law enforcement. Together with other minority groups, the Mexican community suffers from social discrimination and prejudice because of their identity (Bustamante 101). This identity, however, originated from how they were treated as they settled and migrated in the U.S. in the first wave of immigration. Taking note that Mexicans were given low-paying jobs for hard labor, resulting in the creation of low-wage colonias which has become a ground for violence because of poverty and because of the lack of better living conditions and education opportunities (Macias 119). Thus, their identity has made them vulnerable since they were not given proper conditions to achieve better lifestyles. Thus, the cycle of violence and poverty continues within such low-income communities.
Conclusion
It is evident that Mexican immigration has led to various issues that the current society experiences. The establishment of the railroad and its effect on the Mexican immigration prompted the changes in social, economic, and political experiences that the migrants experienced and made an implication in the current society. It is also evident that the conditions which the first wave of Mexican immigrants experienced continues to make implications on how the Mexican American community is treated in American society today. This shows that the effect of Mexican immigration for stable work and protection from violence caused a myriad of other problems which resulted in current social issues. From this perspective, the Mexican immigration in the 1900s not only enabled Mexicans to enter the U.S. for work and for protection but also received negative implications such as discrimination and prejudice within the society.
Works Cited
Bada, Xochitl, and Gleeson, Shannon. “A New Approach to Migrant Labor Rights Enforcement: The Crisis of Undocumented Worker Abuse and Mexican Consular Advocacy in the United States.” Labor Studies Journal, vol. 40, iss. 1 (2015), 32-53. doi: 10.11770160449X14565112.
Bustamante, Jorge A. “Extreme Vulnerabilities of Migrants: The Cases of the United States and Mexico.” Migraciones Internacionales, vol. 6, iss. 20 (2017), 97-118.
Gonzalez, Gilbert G. Guest Workers or Colonized Labor? Mexican Labor Migration to the United States. Routledge, 2006.
Macias, Thomas. “Environmental Risk Perception Among Race and Ethnic Groups in the United States.” Ethnicities, vol. 16, iss. 1 (2016), 111-129. doi: 10.1177/1468796815565382.
Munoz, Carolina Bank. Transnational Tortillas: Race, Gender, and Shop-Floor Politics in Mexico and the United States. Cornell University Press, 2016.
