The goal of eugenics is to enhance human genetic characteristics. Early 20th-century proponents of eugenics thought they could improve people by eradicating their moral and physical defects. They sought to purge society of those who were deemed unsuitable by using eugenic techniques, such as sterilization, the encouragement of birth rates in particular groups, and other techniques. The first rules governing forced sterilization were adopted in the United States at the start of the 20th century. Eugenics has had an impact on thousands of people, particularly on immigrants of Mexican descent.
The conventional image of the Mexican as a criminal, ill, and unassimilable prevailed during the start of the 20th century. As a result, the United States did not welcome immigrants from Mexico. The 1924 Immigration Act led to an upsurge in unfavorable perceptions about Mexican immigrants (Molina 169). Mexican immigration fell sharply due to the repatriation of Mexicans to Mexico and the tightening of visa regulations. All of this was motivated by eugenics ideas. The figures show that in the 1920s, people of Mexican descent made up 11.2% of all immigrants (Molina 169). Mexicans were viewed as sick, impoverished, and dependent on the government. That is why the massive flow of migrants alarmed US citizens.
Moreover, Mexican women were considered to be fecund, which further worsened the situation. According to eugenicist Samuel Holmes, the lowly workers of Mexican descent will generate future citizens (Molina 171). This demonstrates how deeply concerned the populace was at the time about the country’s impending immigration of Mexicans. As an example of eugenics and racism, it may be argued that the public was frightened that Mexicans’ “poor genes” would move to the US. Mexican immigrants have particularly suffered as a result of these prejudices. Deportation caused many people to lose contact with their families, face discrimination in society, lose their rights, and continually live in fear.
One of the major concerns of immigrants of Mexican descent was deportation. If Mexicans lacked citizenship, documentation, or visas, they were deported. At the same time, obtaining US citizenship proved to be exceedingly challenging for them. They were not guaranteed a safe stay even if their child was born in the United States. With the Great Depression coming to an end, so did the demand for immigrants who provided low-cost labor. As a result, the nation started a program for the return of immigrants from Mexico (Molina 172). This was due to the fact that numerous Mexican immigrants got state subsidies, for which a considerable sum of money was spent.
Many Americans demanded that immigrants be deported because they saw them as “charity seekers” who relied on the taxpayers (Molina 172). No matter how long the immigrants had resided in the nation, where they worked, or if they had families, neither factor mattered. They were sent back to the nation they had fled from for much more complex reasons than most people could fathom. However, migrants were not welcomed in Mexico either because they were viewed as traitors (Molina 173). In addition, because they were raised in the US, where English is the official language, many of the children who were deported did not speak Spanish. Despite everything, immigrants from Mexico were forced out of their houses and sent back to the nation they had left.
The US government tried to improve the situation by passing the Kerr Bill. The Kerr Bill was created with the intention to allow some Mexicans remain in the US, but it was rejected (Molina 174). However, this measure shows how the state attempted to propose solutions to the deportation issue. Deportation was still a concern for many Mexicans at the time. Everyone whom the state regarded to be a “likely public charge” was expelled from the nation (Molina 174). Hence, those who lived and received aid for five years could be evicted, but those who got benefits for just a year could not.
Consequently, many immigrants were deported and deprived of everything they had acquired while residing in the US. For example, the Alvarados family with eight children was deported because the state spent about $7,000 on them (Molina 178). From this illustration, it is clear how children were viewed as commodities on whom public funds were only spent rather than as citizens who would contribute to the future of the United States. The reproduction of immigrants was not seen as contributing to the population increase of Americans. Immigrant children were viewed as an additional cost carried by taxpayers. When the children of immigrants are not regarded as capable and legitimate citizens of the country, this is a blatant form of eugenics.
In conclusion, Mexican immigrants to the US suffered as a result of the eugenics movement. The majority of Mexicans experienced discrimination and were concerned about being deported. The eugenics movement served as the basis for governmental legislation and regulation. Because the public considered Mexicans as burden and their children as nuisance, the government tried to reduce the Mexican migration to the country. Since the general population believed that Mexican immigrants were the issue, neither they nor the children born in the US were not considered citizens.
Work Cited
Molina, Natalia. “Deportable Citizens: The Decoupling of Race and Citizenship in the Construction of the “Anchor Baby.”” Deportation in the Americas: Histories of Exclusion and Resistance. Edited by Kenyon Zimmer et al., Texas A&M University Press, 2018, pp. 164-191.