Comparing Latino Immigration into the U.S.

Comparing Latino Immigration into the U.S.

Immigration into the U.S. has always been a result of economic and political predicaments occurring in the migrant's homeland. They come in hopes of leaving behind their poor lifestyles or to gain safety and security in America when civil unrest and bloodshed have erupted in their communities. Focusing on the migration patterns of Mexicans and Colombians, we can analyze and contrast the different circumstances that have been the sources of migration.

Mexicans in the United States have a different status than other Central and South American immigrants because of the history between the U.S. and Mexico. Mexicans have a long and significant influence in the development of the U.S., primarily because a considerable fragment of the country was once part of the Mexican nation. On top of this, Mexicans have also been able to create a hierarchy among other Latin American peoples, placing themselves on top and subjecting those below them to racial discrimination. This discrimination is only magnified in the United States because non-Mexican immigrants are categorized as Mexican because of pre-existing colonial identities.

Mexican immigration to the U.S. had not been consistent until recently towards the end of the twentieth century, but instead it was inflow and outflow between the neighboring countries that reflected political and economic activity. With an expanding post-Civil War U.S. economy, Mexicans first began their migration into America to work in agriculture, mining and railroading. This migration was intensified with a consolidation of Mexico's hacienda system and because of the outbreak in violence resulting from the Mexican Revolution and the Cistero Rebellion, which left many displaced and unemployed. However, this was short-lived because many working immigrations, residents and citizens were deported back to Mexico with the onset of the Great Depression.

As the prosperous 60's came around, the government sponsored bracero program once again created a rush of Mexican immigration primarily to the fields of California and throughout the southwest. This second migration created a solid foundation and many of the immigrants "started social networks that facilitated the future migration of their friends and family" (Hondagneu-Sotelo p23). American political policy and a bombing Mexican economic transformation created a migration of Mexicans into the U.S. which has not been able to be reversed, but instead has remained strong and growing.

Colombians, unlike Mexicans did not come as a result of economic situations or political policies, but instead fled their country as a consequence of massive bloodshed that terrorized Colombia, a bloodshed that is still present in regions of the country. A distinct characteristic, not seen in other Latin American immigrations, was that the majority of Colombian migrants were