Forced Removal of Mexican Americas During the Great Depression
Beginning in 1929, government authorities and certain private sector entities in California and throughout the United States undertook an aggressive program to forcibly remove persons of Mexican ancestry from the United States. In California alone, approximately 400,000 American citizens and legal residents of Mexican ancestry were forced to leave and go to Mexico. In total, an estimated 2 million people of Mexican ancestry were forcibly relocated to Mexico. Approximately 1.2 million of these people were United States citizens born in the United States.
Throughout California, including areas in downtown Los Angeles near this monument, massive raids were conducted in Mexican American communities. These raids targeted persons of Mexican ancestry and indiscriminately characterized these persons as “illegal aliens” even when they were United States citizens or legal residents. These raids resulted in the clandestine removal of thousands of people, many of whom were never able to return to the United States, denied their right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the American dream in their country of birth.
As publicly acknowledged by the California State Legislature in California Government Code § 8722 (2005), the State of California apologizes to those individuals that were victims of this “repatriation” program for the fundamental violations of their basic civil liberties and constitutional rights committed during the period of illegal deportation and coerced emigration.
“I just always wanted to come home.” -Teresa Martínez
“If they hadn’t sent us to Mexico, we wouldn’t have had to go through all these hardships. There was no reason to do this because we were American citizens.” -Emilia Castañeda
“I just wanted to serve my country.” -Rúben Jiménez
Dedicated at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes on February 26, 2012
Click Here for video of events, produced and uploaded by DailyTitan (CSU at Fullerton)
Click Here for link to MALDEF website and photo gallery regarding ceremony at LA Plaza on February 26, 2012
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