The Enduring Impact of Mexican Immigration on American Society and Culture

Settlement Patterns and Challenges

Mexican immigration affected America in many different ways and still continues to affect us today. Mexicans started to immigrate around the 1600s but did not actually come to the United States until halfway through the 1800s (“Mexicans”). Mexican immigrants continue to come to America today, some legally and others illegally. They came over to America for a couple of different reasons, one of them being that the United States offered more jobs for people and a better state of living.

Coming over to America for them meant that they could have a home and a good job, and this offer was better than what was back in their homelands, where there was poverty and social classes. In turn, the United States offered lots of opportunities because it was a democratic nation, and it offered movement on social ladders. From 1876-1911, the president of Mexico made many people lose land, brought in foreign investment, and tried to create a labor force that people did not like (“Mexicans”).

This pushed many people to leave Mexico during this time. Also, many immigrants were usually stuck in one place, and it was most likely at the bottom of the social classes. Any way to move up was enticing to them. All of these things pulled people to America, and they started to settle in or around the same area.

When people immigrate, they tend to keep and stay in the same area as other immigrants because they share the same culture, beliefs, and religion with each other, and it makes it easier to be comfortable and make friends. They could be by other immigrants and have a better job if they moved to areas near each other. There is still a plethora of Mexican immigrants in the United States today, and currently, they are most apparent in North Dakota, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Delaware (Batalova). Living in America was better than living in Mexico, but the immigrants still faced hardships when they came over.

Mexican Immigrants’ Challenges and Advocacy

Adjusting to life in the United States was not easy for any immigrants, and many had to overcome lots of barriers. The 1930s were most likely the toughest for Mexican Immigrants because this was when the Great Depression happened (“Immigration…Mexican”). Everyone, including immigrants, struggled during this time because there was not a lot of food and not many jobs that were available. Deportation became a big threat to Mexican immigrants during this time. “As unemployment swept the U.S., hostility to immigrant workers grew, and the government began a program of repatriating immigrants to Mexico” (“Immigration…Mexican”). Many Americans were angry that immigrants came in and took their jobs, and it created hateful feelings toward Mexican immigrants.

The government did not force the immigrants to go back but used tactics such as “systematic intimidation, harassment, and the lack of culturally appropriate practices” (Tadeo) to push them back to Mexico. This was tough for immigrants, especially for sick and older in age people. Being disliked and having people wanting to send them back to Mexico are some barriers that Mexican immigrants still struggle with these things today as well. But immigrants fought back and still continue to fight back today against this. There are many advocates for them, laws that were created, and policies that help protect them today.

Diverse Job Opportunities and Gender Roles Among Mexican Immigrants

One of the reasons that immigrants came to the United States was because it offered many job opportunities for them. There were many different jobs that were offered to them, some better than other jobs. But, certain jobs employed more Mexican immigrants. As found by Elizabeth Grieco, “over half of these individuals worked as operators, fabricators, and laborers in the service occupations” during the early 2000s because “compared to both the native and overall foreign-born worker population, Mexican and Central American workers are less likely to be employed in professional and related industries.”

Immigrant women have different jobs than immigrant men do. Most immigrant workers that were women were found to have a job as either a maid or housekeeper in a 2015 study (“The Impact of Immigrant Women on America’s Labor Force”). The reason these women might have this type of job is that many might not have the education to get a better job in America. Other jobs might include restaurant work, in a hotel, and doing domestic work or manufacturing (“Mexicans”).

Mexican immigrants that are men have different jobs. Most men have jobs such as construction, reforestation, and agricultural work (“USA: Development of Jobs Held by Mexican Immigrants”). Similar to women, men might not have the education to get a better job, nor do they have the resources to get an education to apply for a job such as a doctor. For these jobs, not much was needed to be able to apply, which made it easier for men to be able to do it.

Cultural Influence and Transformative Contributions of Mexican Immigrants

America has been affected by Mexican immigrants in a different number of ways, and they are still impacting the United States today. Their values and beliefs are strong and can be different from people who are born in America. But, Mexican immigrants do keep bringing the Spanish language to America, keeping it thriving and not letting it be forgotten (“Mexicans”). By continuing to bring Spanish to America, it has made an impact on music. Spanish music is very popular, as are artists with Latino or Mexican backgrounds, such as Shakira, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, and Thalía. Another impact they have made is on clothing and food.

The bright colors and patterns are highly influenced by Mexican culture, and these qualities are still present in American fashion today. Food has influenced America’s cuisine deeply as well. There are many Mexican restaurants that offer food like nachos, tacos, rice and beans, and quesadillas. Also, popular chips such as Doritos and tortilla chips have been influenced by Mexican culture. In the economy, Mexican immigrants helped America go from a colonial economy to a more agricultural one and increased the population (Hipsman).

Mexican immigrants made a significant impact on America in many ways through music, the economy, and food. They faced many hardships and continue to face them today. But, coming to America was a better opportunity for them and created more jobs and success for immigrants.

References:

1. Batalova, Jeanne Batalova Jeanne, and Elijah Alperin. “Immigrants in the U.S. States with the Fastest-Growing Foreign-Born Populations.” Migrationpolicy.org, 1 Aug. 2018, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrants-us-states-fastest-growing-foreign-born-populations.
2. Davis, Tadeo. “Mexican Communities in the Great Depression.” University of Chicago – SSA, www.ssa.uchicago.edu/mexican-communities-great-depression.
3. Grieco, Elizabeth. “What Kind of Work Do Immigrants Do? Occupation and Industry of Foreign-Born Workers in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 12 Aug. 2015, www.migrationpolicy.org/research/what-kind-work-do-immigrants-do-occupation-and-industry-foreign-born-workers-united-states.
4. Hipsman, Faye, et al. “Immigration in the United States: New Economic, Social, Political Landscapes with Legislative Reform on the Horizon.” Migrationpolicy.org, 2 Mar. 2017, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigration-united-states-new-economic-social-political-landscapes-legislative-reform.
5. “Immigration…Mexican.” Planning D-Day (April 2003) – Library of Congress Information Bulletin, Victor, www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/mexican6.html.
6. ‘Mexicans.’ American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation, edited by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, Macmillan Reference USA, 1997. U.S. History in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/BT2337000103/GPS?u=lnoca_joseph&sid=GPS&xid=deba1865. Accessed 14 Feb. 2019
7. Steinhauer, Jason. “The History of Mexican Immigration to the U.S. in the Early 20th Century.” The History of Mexican Immigration to the U.S. in the Early 20th Century | Insights: Scholarly Work at the John W. Kluge Center, 11 Mar. 2015, blogs.loc.gov/kluge/2015/03/the-history-of-mexican-immigration-to-the-u-s-in-the-early-20th-century/.
8. “The Impact of Immigrant Women on America’s Labor Force.” American Immigration Council, 15 June 2017, www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/impact-immigrant-women-americas-labor-force.
9. The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. “Mexican Immigration to the United States: A Brief History.” Time, Time, 12 Mar. 2015, time.com/3742067/history-mexican-immigration/.
10. “USA: Development of Jobs Held by Mexican Immigrants | Statistic.” Statista, Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/203046/development-of-jobs-held-by-mexican-immigrants-in-the-us-by-economic-sector/.