Forced repatriation is not a new thing. Today in Los Angeles, there will be a ceremony to apologize for the forced repatriation after the Great Depression.
From Wikipedia:
The Mexican Repatriation refers to a mass migration that took place between 1929 and 1939, when as many as 500,000 people of Mexican descent were forced or pressured to leave the US.[1] The event, carried out by American authorities, took place without due process.[2] Some 35,000 were deported, amongst many hundreds of thousands of other immigrants who were deported during this period. The Immigration and Naturalization Service targeted Mexicans because of "the proximity of the Mexican border, the physical distinctiveness of mestizos, and easily identifiable barrios." [3]
3. Ruiz, Vicki L. (1998). From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513099-5.
I just got a reminder from MALDAF (Mexican American Legal Defense Fund) that it will be streaming the ceremony this morning. The ceremony Speakers will include:
Eva Longoria, hosting the ceremony
Hilda L. Solis, United States Secretary of Labor
Cruz Reynoso, Former CA Supreme Court Judge and Civil Rights Lawyer
The Honorable Esteban Torres, Former US Representative (CA-34)
Senator Joseph L. Dunn (Ret.)
The Honorable Gloria Molina, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 1st District
Dolores Huerta
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, MALDEF
The program starts at 10:30 PST and can be watched at MALDEF.org.
Thought I would share this if no one else has since this episode in history is one of the many that are "overlooked" or forgotten. Racism and oppression just keep cycling back to us in different guises.