Author: Mary Prescott
History of Immigration
There has been a long history of Mexican immigration to the United States. It began in the early 20th century because of labor demands in the US coupled with political unrest in Mexico. Since then, there have been four main waves of immigration.
- 1. The first happened prior to WWII, when private labor contractors in the US recruited Mexican agricultural workers.
- 2. Then came the Bracero Program from 1942 to 1964, which also brought in temporary contract laborers.
- 3. The third wave was a large unauthorized one that came after the Bracero Program ended.
- 4. Finally, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) legalized 2.3 million Mexican immigrants.
References
Zong, Jie, and Jeanne Batalova. "Mexican Immigrants in the United States." Migrationpolicy.org. 2 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 July 2015.