One of the most surprising things about the formation of the United States Border Patrol was the cooperation by Mexico to control the illegal migration of Mexicans to the United States. It just always seemed that Mexico did not have an interest in people crossing into the United States. It’s even more surprising that Mexico pressured the United States immigration law enforcement to increase the capture and deportation of migrants back to Mexico. It might have been assumed by many that Mexico would have been offended by the U.S. taking these actions. Kelly Lytle Hernandez really dug deep to get hard to find sources of information for her writing. Her efforts shine a light on important parts of the story that would have remained hidden otherwise.
What is not surprising, according to MIGRA, is the underlying racism and greed ingrained in the formation and expansion of the agency. In the prior readings, the abusive treatment and negative perception of the Hispanic and indigenous people by some was apparent from well before the border was created. In the reading it was discussed that middle class Mexican-Americans wanted to have the status and social benefits of the white residents in the borderlands. They called themselves Spanish Americans and, like many of the Anglo citizens, discriminated against the migrants from Mexico. This seems to be the case today according to people along the border. They have completely disregarded their ancestry and the history of the region. It’s strange to hear Hispanics complain about people of their same race, because of their race or Mexican nationality.
The author of this book is very passionate about this subject and tells the story of the border patrol and the migrant in a very powerful way. It is actually hard to read. It makes you feel frustrated and stressed. What we see happening the United States today makes so much more sense once the history of this region. As the Black people struggled in the South, the Hispanic people were having similar issues in the borderlands. The violence all these people experienced was terrible. Some people who had prejudices against Latino migrants, and who were predisposed to violence, joined the border patrol to live their fantasy to hurt the people they hated.
Of course, migrants were, and still are, exploited by industry for cheap labor. They are not appreciated but are the reason Americans pay less for products and services, even for those who despise migrants. The ones who would never take the jobs that these people who cross the border do.
Though there has been improvement in the rights and treatment of minorities over time, we are being reminded that there remains a serious problem. In fact, it seems that we have recently seriously slipped backwards. Inequity has been more exposed and seems more accepted in recent times. Hopefully we can overcome it. Otherwise…
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