Moreover, the Mexican Revolution worked in tandem with the economic shifts in the region that attracted more migrant workers to San Diego and Imperial counties. From 1910–1920, the Mexican-origin population grew from an estimated 1,200 to more than 4,000 and reached 20,000 by 1928. 1 Among the immigrant population group that arrived in the U.S. were soldiers who fought in Mexico’s revolutionary war. One of them was Amalia Meza’s father, Arturo Meza, born in 1900 in Saltillo, Coahuila. At 12 years of age, Arturo left home and fought with the rebels led by Pancho Villa. After the war, he headed for the U.S., but returned to Mexico City where he met his wife. They moved to East Los Angeles, California in 1951, raising three children, while he developed his gravestone business. After the death of his wife, Arturo came to live with Amalia and her family. Arturo passed away at 100-years of age, having lived to see Amalia become a federal prosecutor, but not long enough to see her become a San Diego Superior Court Judge. The Brown Scare The Mexican Revolution also initiated what historians labeled the “Brown Scare,” an intensification of discrimination against Mexicans on the part of white America. It was rooted in suspicions that the radicalism and violence of the Mexican Revolution would reach across the border to challenge the status-quo on the U.S. side. In response, local, state, and federal forces from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas, began to militarize the international border region. Alongside growing xenophobic sentiment, 1924 marked the creation of the label “illegal aliens,” and the accompanying formation of the United States Border Patrol.
Mexicans rebels during The Mexican Revolution (Photo courtesy Library of Congress • LC-USZ62-75786)
U.S. Border Patrol – 1927 (Photo courtesy The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 2 – Rebuilding Lives, Against All Odds
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