Historians describe the environment as a “frenzy of anti-Mexican hysteria” where violence and scare tactics were utilized as an “incessant cry of ‘get rid of the Mexicans’ swept the country.” 6 In San Diego, the National Club of America for Americans, Inc. helped local governments draft anti-immigrant ordinances. The Mexican consulate also worked with charitable organizations to ar- range travel by ship for those deported to Mexico. Families of more than three were typical of those repatriated from San Diego, and about half were children. Many resettled in border states, and created, for instance, the Colonia Libertad neighborhood in Tijuana, Baja California. 7
The Great Depression and Repatriation The Great Depression of the 1930s led to the collapse of the U.S. economy, triggering massive unemployment and food shortages. It also instigated aggressive programs to force people of Mexican ancestry to leave the country. At least 500,000 Mexicans and Mexican Americans in California were coerced—or chose—to leave the U.S. Repatriation efforts ranged from Mexican immigrants accepting invitations to return to Mexico, to local government pressure to repatriate Mexican citizens by deeming them a “public charge.” Both citizens (mainly children) and non-citizens of Mexican origin were relocated in an intensified atmosphere in which all apparent “Mexicans” were considered foreign and became scapegoats for the high unem- ployment numbers experienced by white U.S. citizens. Almost 76 years later, the California State legislature issued an Apology Act (Government Code-Section 8721) declaring that almost 2 million people of Mexican ancestry were forcibly relocated to Mexico. Approximately 1.2 million had been born in the U.S., a great number of them from California.
The San Diego Union – Oct 29, 1931 (Courtesy The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The San Diego Union – May 1, 1936 (Courtesy The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The San Diego Union – May 27, 1936 (Courtesy The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Los Angeles, CA: Train carrying 1500 Mexicans being deported to Mexico. Families waving goodbye – August 20, 1931
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 2 – Rebuilding Lives, Against All Odds
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