My Grandfather's Stories and Immigration Law

Grandfather's Worldview and Stories

• Three Verities: Political/personal loyalties, hard work/respect for elders, and conducting life with honor were paramount.
• Senator Bronson Cutting: A story depicting him as a hero helping Northern New Mexico Hispanics regain land, tragically dying in a plane crash due to "sinister forces"; represented an idealized view of justice against wealthy interests.
• Racism in Texas (WWI): Grandfather's first encounter with overt racism in Texas when Mexican-American soldiers were denied service ("No coloreds or Mexicans allowed"); led to lasting shame, anger, and the admonition, "$Ten$ $cuidado$ $con$ $los$ $Tejanos$…" (Be careful with Texans because they are all sons-of-bitches and have no shame).

The Author's Connection to Narratives

• His predisposition to storytelling is rooted in his ethnic heritage and educational background.
• Critiques the "Chronicle of the Space Traders" for being "unintentionally ahistorical" because the scenario of racial groups being exploited, conquered, removed, or expelled is a recurring reality in U.S. history, not a fantasy.

Mexican Immigration History and Policy

• Mexican Labor: Formed the backbone of agricultural labor in the Southwestern U.S., often relegated to arduous "stoop-labor"; employers prioritized a readily available, exploitable, and subordinate labor pool resistant to organization.
• Immigration Laws as Control: Federal immigration requirements (head tax, literacy tests) were strategically waived or reimposed to regulate the flow of Mexican workers based on U.S. labor demand.
  • The Border Patrol was created in $1924$ to control the Southern border.
• Depression Era Departures ($1929-1935$): Mass deportations (over $80,000$) and "voluntary" repatriations (over $500,000$) of Mexicans occurred, many of whom were legal residents or U.S. citizens.
• Bracero Program ($1942$): A large-scale contract-labor program with Mexico, created during WWII to address labor shortages, provided a temporary workforce with limited rights.
• "Drying out wetbacks": A confusing system in $1946$ introduced to regularize the status of some Mexican braceros due to difficulties in distinguishing citizens from deportable Mexicans.
• Operation Wetback ($1954$): A massive deportation campaign that removed over one million braceros, justified by a media campaign as a national security necessity.
• Continuing Patterns: These historical practices foreshadowed later immigration policies in the $1980s$, including "Operation Jobs," the Immigration Reform and Control Act of $1986$, $H2A$-worker programs, and the incarceration of Central American refugees and interdiction of Haitian boat persons.

The Power of Stories

• Narratives, folklore, and personal stories are powerful means to critically examine and challenge prevailing "mindsets" and presuppositions in legal and political discourse.
• Recounting the nuanced and often distressing details of racial and immigration history is crucial for informing civil rights scholarship and understanding ongoing societal issues.