The Chicano View on Mexican Immigration

1050 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chicano and black movements

During the 1970’s, Mexican Americans were involved in a large social movement called the "Chicano movement." Corresponding with the great development of the black civil rights movement, Mexican Americans began to take part in a series of different social protests in which they demanded equal rights for themselves. Composed mainly of Mexican American students and youth, these activists focused on maintaining a pride for their culture as well as their ethnicity to fuel their political campaign. Left out of this campaign initially though were Mexican immigrants.

As is made clear in the writings of David Gutierrez, since the beginning of large amounts of Mexican immigration, Mexican Americans have opposed supporting Mexican immigrants. In fact, Mexican Americans had predominantly been some of the main supporters of immigration reform and sanction. "Historically, much of this concern has been based upon Mexican Americans’ belief that Mexican immigrants undercut their already tenuous socioeconomic position in the United States by depressing wages, competing for employment, housing, and social services, and reinforcing negative stereotypes about "Mexicans" among Anglo-Americans" (Gutierrez, 177). Mexican Americans felt as though this competition was holding them back from growth and development within American society, even though they were citizens. This negativity towards immigrants by Mexican Americans was also sparked by the fact that there were separations and differences between the two groups in "class stratification, regional attachments, and subtle differences in customs and language usage" (Gutierrez, 178). These ideas were strong and were held during some of the Chicano movement, but they were not held throughout it...

... middle of paper ...

...nce the first National Chicano / Latino Conference on Immigration and Public Policy in October of 1977. The conference was sparked by then President Jimmy Carter’s immigration reform legislation which imposed legal sanctions against habitual employers of illegal aliens, and extended legal amnesty to hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens in the United States. This somehow began to open the eyes and ears of Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, to the problems involved with Mexican immigrants and their treatment in the United States. Since the unification of these groups and their ideas by the late 1970’s, there has been no turning back for these groups. The efforts of contemporary Chicanos and Latinos for the equal rights of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants have continued to grow stronger together, and have begun to encompass a broader range of issues.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of From Indians To Chicanos By Diego Vigil

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chapter eight form the book From Indians To Chicanos by Diego Vigil, talks about the intact and stable social order. There are three subtopics in this chapter the first one is the industrialism and urbanization in classes. The second one is assimilation vs acculturation and the third one is the color of the intergroup that has to do with racism. All these subtopics are important because it was what made the social classes get united or separated.

    Read More

  • Cheech Marin: Why I Want To Be Chicano

    344 Words  | 1 Pages

    Cinco de Mayo is usually confused with Mexican Independence day but that day is when Mexico fought French invaders. During 1910, Mexico revolted against its repressive rulers and adapted its new constitution. They came up with the term for those who were told in Mexico they weren’t Mexican and in America who weren’t American. They wanted to belong to both. While the Civil Rights movement is mostly known to give African-American rights but, Chicanos also fought for their rights. The term Chicano first became accepted during the Chicano Movement. Thus, Chicanos have many things to be proud of. Their Aztec ancestors were intelligent people who built a city on water and made all Chicanos royalty. Along with their Mexican ancestors won two revolutions and won against the huge French army. Trinidad Sanchez Jr., a poet, wrote about Chicano pride in his poem, “Why Am I so Brown?” Sanchez wrote the poem in order to call attention to that all should be proud of their skin color. His poem talks about Chicanos having honor in their skin color by using imagery, metaphors, and

    Read More

  • The Affect of Caesar Chavez on Mexican American Culture

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mexican Americans have been in this country longer than many groups of people. Although, they have been here longer, whites took thier land from them. Along with taking their land from them, they took all the pride that the Mexicans Americans had. It seemed that way until they started fighting for their rights in the early nineteen hundreds. Treaties were made that gave land rights to them and speeches were made by political leaders deeming this countries actions unjust. However, the treaties were ignored and the speeches were ploys to gain votes. Many Mexican American leaders noticed that their people were mistreated and walked all over by the anglo government.

    Read More

  • In The Film: A Class Apart, A Struggle For Educational Equality, And African American

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    After having viewed a few films in Chicano History class like A Class Apart, A Struggle for Educational Equality, and Latin and African Americans: Friends or foes, one cannot help but wonder how it is possible that you might be learning about the intense racism towards Latinos in the United States for the very first time after having devoted your life to the American country. I, myself, was born and raised in Arizona, a state south of the United States, in the city of Tucson that lies only about an hour away, or around 68 miles away from the Nogales, Sonora, Mexican border. One would assume to know a sufficient amount of history of the neighboring land or at least be aware of some fundamental facts about America and Mexico’s relationship throughout time.

    Read More

  • Gloria Anzaldúa Chcano Culture Analysis

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Study of Popular Culture, Tatum (2001) says “Mexican Americans are but one of the several minorities in the United States to be denied of their civil and constitutional rights” (p. 13). As early in the nineteenth

    Read More

  • Chicano Studies and the Latino Student Community

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    Latino grassroots politics in the academic realm has been considered as predominantly Chicano in nature. However, the geometry of this academic sector is no longer one dimensional, due to the formation of a Chicana feminist consciousness; the rise of an identified gay community within the Chicana/o student populace; and the emergence of “Latinos” in era of Chicanismo, The abrupt growth of Latinos (e.g. Spanish speaking of Mexican, Central or Latin American decent) in the United State’s educational system led the general population to characterize them as subjects on the cusps of political power and influence. But this widespread depiction of Latinos as an untapped potential is intrinsically linked to an impression of civic cohesion within the Latino student population. Although there is a correspondence between these parties in terms of the alienation they have felt and the discrimination they have endured throughout their academic careers, there is a minimal collective effort in confronting against their oppressive status. This is mainly a result of conflicting ideologies and social agendas within the Latino student community, as well as the relegation of Hispanic subgroups into the lower echelons. Latino students, nevertheless, have demonstrated their capacity, when both Chicanos and the marginalized Hispanic subgroups join efforts to reach a communal objective. This debunks the historical notion that Chicano students are the only group of Hispanics in the academic sphere that have been actively challenging the processes of social exclusion, and also displays the capacity of a collaborative effort.

    Read More

  • History of Latino/a Immigration to the U.S.

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    Latino/a immigrants share similar experiences of anti-immigrant rhetoric just like other immigrant groups. Many Latino/as in America have faced negative comments based on their identity. For example, Rush Limbaugh, a radio host, expounds negative comments toward Latino/as, particularly Mexicans. He claimed that Mexicans are “a renegade, potential[ly] criminal element” that is “unwilling to work” (Media Matters for America, 2/28/06). These malice comments were similar to that of other immigrants. As other immigrant groups of non-English descent started arriving in America, there was an immigrant phobia towards the newcomers. During the mid-1700s, Benjamin Franklin said ...

    Read More

  • The Chicano Movement in the LA School System

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Chicano movement in the LA school system improved Mexican-American self determination. After hiring Mexican-American advisors and teachers students were encouraged to go to college and to follow their dreams no matter how huge the dream was. Mexican-American students in east LA were no longer told what they could not do and were no longer held back from their ambitions. The positive changes implemented by the school board opened the doors for students to further their education and become the professionals they wanted to be. No one could tell them no anymore.

    Read More

  • The Chicano Movement: Struggles, Goals, and Accomplishments

    1527 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Chicano Movement, like many other civil rights movements, gained motivation from the everyday struggles that the people had to endure in the United States due to society. Mexican-Americans, like many other ethnicities, were viewed as an inferior group compared to white Americans. Mexican-Americans sought to make a change with the Chicano Movement and “the energy generated by the movement focused national attention on the needs of Mexican-Americans” (Bloom 65). The Mexican-American Movement had four main issues that it aimed to resolve and they ranged from “restoration of la...

    Read More

  • Chicano Struggles

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    We are Chicanos who will continue to fight for our rights even if it means repeating ourselves through the walk of many cities. Yes, we aren’t perfect and have made huge mistakes that will always be remembered, but being treated better can motivate us to get our lives together and be greater overall. Now, we will stand up heavy with our pride and culture, and demand for those equal rights. We will be loud and share our story to million in order to have some act, amendment passed in our favor. We will have tear-stained cheeks and blistered feet, but we will go to hell and back just to get a taste of that “American

    Read More

  • The Progressive Era Of The Chicano Movement

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1960s was a very progressive era for the mexican americans that inhabited the United States, It was very a progressive era but with every progressive era there are also a lot of hardships leading up to it there were also a lot of tough battle to be fought. The 1960s was a tough time for Mexican Americans living in America, They were discriminated for their cultural differences and were stripped of their rights because their parents weren 't Native born.

    Read More

  • Mexican Immigration Discrimination Essay

    2918 Words  | 6 Pages

    As long as civilizations have been around, there has always been a group of oppressed people; today the crucial problem facing America happens to be the discrimination and oppression of Mexican immigrants. “Mexican Americans constitute the oldest Hispanic-origin population in the United States.”(57 Falcon) Today the population of Mexican’s in the United States is said to be about 10.9%, that’s about 34 million people according to the US Census Bureau in 2012. With this many people in the United States being of Mexican descent or origin, one would think that discrimination wouldn’t be a problem, however though the issue of Mexican immigrant oppression and discrimination has never been a more prevalent problem in the United States before now. As the need for resolve grows stronger with each movement and march, the examination of why these people are being discriminated against and oppressed becomes more crucial and important. Oppression and Anti-discrimination organizations such as the Freedom Socialist Organization believe that the problem of discrimination began when America conquered Mexican l...

    Read More

  • The Zapatista Movement

    1694 Words  | 4 Pages

    Indigenous people of the world have historically been and continue to be pushed to the margins of society. Similarly, women have experienced political, social, and economical marginalization. For the past 500 years or so, the indigenous peoples of México have been subjected to violence and the exploitation since the arrival of the Spanish. The xenophobic tendencies of Spanish colonizers did not disappear after México’s independence; rather it maintained the racial assimilation and exclusion policies left behind by the colonists, including gender roles (Moore 166) . México is historically and continues to be a patriarchal society. So when the Zapatista movement of 1994, more formally known as the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación National (Zapatista Army of National Liberation; EZLN) constructed a space for indigenous women to reclaim their rights, it was a significant step towards justice. The Mexican government, in haste for globalization and profits, ignored its indigenous peoples’ sufferings. Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, consisting of mostly indigenous peoples living in the mountains and country, grew frustration with the Mexican government. It was in that moment that the Zapatista movement arose from the countryside to awaken a nation to the plight of indigenous Mexicans. Being indigenous puts a person at a disadvantage in Mexican society; when adding gender, an indigenous woman is set back two steps. It was through the Zapatista movement that a catalyst was created for indigenous women to reclaim rights and autonomy through the praxis of indigeneity and the popular struggle.

    Read More

  • Mexican Immigration

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mexican immigration in the early 1900's was a huge issue that impacted the United States. States in areas such as urban population, employment and many other areas. The mass number of Mexican immigrants that migrated to the United States from Mexico were at nearly half million. between the years of 1920 and 1929. Mexicans left their native land and moved to the United States not only to achieve financial prosperity, but to get out of the chaotic environment that Mexico was in at the time due to the Mexican revolution which began in 1910.

    Read More

  • Impact of Globalization on Mexican Culture and Identity

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    The ethnic- Mexican experience has changed over the years as American has progressed through certain period of times, e.g., the modernity and transformation of the southwest in the late 19th and early 20th century, the labor demands and shifting of U.S. immigration policy in the 20th century, and the Chicano Civil Rights Movement. Through these events Mexican Americans have established and shaped their culture, in order, to negotiate these precarious social and historical circumstances. Throughout the ethnic Mexicans cultural history in the United States, conflict and contradiction has played a key role in shaping their modalities of life. Beginning in the late 20th century and early 21st century ethnic Mexicans have come under distress from the force of globalization. Globalization has followed the trends of conflict and contradiction forcing ethnic Mexicans to adjust their culture and combat this force. While Mexican Americans are in the struggle against globalization and the impact it has had on their lives, e.g., unemployment more common, wages below the poverty line, globalization has had a larger impact on their motherland having devastating affects unlike anything in history.

    Read More

More about The Chicano View on Mexican Immigration

Open Document