Concerns With Crossing the Border
The Mexican Revolution and propaganda media created false fear and harsh stereotypes for Mexican immigrants making them more unwelcomed within the US. This presented difficulties for when immigrants wanted to enter at the southern border especially within those major immigration hubs. Immigrants in San Diego were so fearful of the newly militarized border that even a militia was formed to protect themselves and their communities. At one point in the 1920’s there was estimates of 18,000 troops spread throughout the border at San Diego and the surrounding area. While the 1920s was just an introduction to a militarized border the Depression Era pushed those policies even further. At 1920 there was only about 2,800 deportations in the US, but by 1930 that number had exploded to 39,000. Southern California was beta for Operation Deportation with estimates of over 415,000 people being deported between the 1920’s and 1930’s.