Deportation of Mexican Americans During the 1930s

California State Senator Joe Dunn introduces a tragic and little-known chapter in American history: the illegal expulsion of over 1 million US citizens of Mexican descent in the 1930s. He highlights that this was a national tragedy and calls for an overdue correction of this injustice.

The Hoover administration conducted massive sweeps and deportation campaigns, not only targeting Mexican nationals but also American citizens of Mexican descent. These actions created a climate of fear and led to a 'Lost Generation of Mexican Americans' across the entire nation, not just the Southwest.

Ruben Jimenez, born in Los Angeles in 1924, recounts his family's comfortable life before they were pressured by a government agent to move to Mexico. Despite his and his siblings' American citizenship, their rights were violated. His parents, legal residents, were stripped of their right to return. His father was told he would lose his job to Anglo workers if they stayed.

Upon arriving in Mexico, Ruben's family found nothing but bare land. They had no living quarters, no running water, and no electricity, forcing them to camp under a tree. His father built a primitive shack of bamboo and mud. Ruben resented being taken from the United States and the struggle to survive in Mexico after leaving all their possessions behind. Despite this injustice, he later served his country in the military from 1943 to 1946 and seeks a public apology.

Emilia Castaneda, born in Los Angeles in 1926, shares her childhood experience of forced deportation. Her family owned a home, and her father was a skilled bricklayer. One day, her father announced they were leaving for Mexico. As children, they didn't know Spanish, having been punished for speaking it in school. They could only take what fit into a large trunk.

Emilia describes a dark and crowded train station filled with crying people, both children and adults. In El Paso, they were forced to walk through trays of disinfectant to avoid 'contaminating the cattle.' She recalls the trains being very crowded and hearing rumors that they were locked to prevent people from getting off. The journey was a forced relocation, unwanted by the family.

Upon arriving in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico, Emilia's family found no running water or proper sanitation. She struggled to adapt to using a backyard for a bathroom after having modern facilities in Los Angeles. The sleeping conditions were terrible, rat-infested, causing her fear at night. Her father had to string up wires to hang food to protect it from rats. Emilia quit school around age nine or ten to survive and feels it was an injustice, as they were American citizens, and she desires an apology from the federal government.