Outline of Chinese Americans and Mexican Americans - Assignment Example

A second wave of immigrants came during World War II in order to supply construction, farm and domestic labor under the “Bracero Program”. During the last quarter of the 20th century there was large scale immigration both legal and illegal from Mexico to the US due to Mexico’s severe economic problems. The first large scale Chinese immigration to America was in 1848 when the California Gold Rush led many to believe they could find their fortune and escape economic hardship especially in Canton province because of British dominance( Le 2012) They also came to Hawaii as contract workers in sugar plantations, and to continental US as merchants, gardeners, domestics, laundry workers, farmers and starting in 1865 as railroad workers.

Public Policies In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed Mexican Americans all the rights of citizens of the United States including free enjoyment of their liberty and property. However despite these promised protections they were largely dispossessed of their land by an Anglo run legal system that administered land holdings Kutty 2008) This caused a severe reduction in their economic status into the 20th century. In addition to this economic discrimination, Mexican Americans also suffered racial and legal prejudice with civic segregation similar to the blacks in various areas until the 1950s and 1970s.

Even the US Congress expressed the view that Mexicans were racially inferior. During the Great Depression, because of welfare burdens the federal government pursued a policy of forced repatriation of Mexican Americans to Mexico. The public policies affecting Chinese Americans were the Naturalization Act of 1870 restricting all immigration into the US to white persons and persons of African descent and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 ( thinkquest). The former act made Chinese ineligible for citizenship until 1943 and was the first significant bar on free immigration in America’s history.

The latter act was to prevent an excess of cheap labor Ways Policies Affected Immigration Success Not only were Mexicans deprived of their property after the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, but had to pay discriminating taxes as well( Kutty Policy) For example in California they were subject to the Foreign Miners License Tax which was enforced only against the non Europeans. This policy was a success in its’ unstated goal of forcing 2/3 of the Mexican miners to return home. Also the wealth of Mexican Americans in New Mexico was depleted by usury laws at excessive rates when Mexicans tried to buy back the land and in Texas violent sabotage of their business interests prevailed.

Segregation into inferior housing, education, employment and civic services has contributed to stereotyping by white society. The repatriation policies during the Great Depression forced about 1/3 of Mexican Americans to leave the US mostly because of violence, harassment and diminished opportunities. The Naturalization Act of 1870 arose out of resentment against the frugal, hard working, low waged Chinese Americans