This page is referenced by:

• 1 media/u06_dark_red.gif 2021-04-13T23:55:25-07:00 Introduction B 17 plain 2021-05-02T22:13:49-07:00      When looking at the modern southern border many would be surprised to learn how the border and relationship developed to what border security and immigration is like today. The 1900-1930 saw a large influx of southern immigration and was the highest since the United States of America's founding up to that point. Cities that border the United States of America and Mexico have developed and created a culture unlike any other city as they have witnessed migration, emigration, and constant change in government policy. Within the first thirty years of the twentieth century the US was experiencing great change, but so was Mexico. Mexico was in a state of turmoil both politically and economically due to decisions made by President Porfirio Diaz. Diaz was offered financial support from the U.S. and in turn he decided to modernize the railway system to strengthen his regime and trade with America, however, this decision left people displaced and angry. This heightened the influx of people crossing the border, but it also made the reasoning different from what many would assume. This will be further discussed in chapter one under economy in Mexico and economy in America.
     Many of those who crossed the border were men who were looking for short-term arrangements. Something that could allow for them to make money to support their family and then eventually return to Mexico. However, as much as coming to America was supposed to help, once in the states immigrants were not at ease. The American system and society were largely discriminatory against those that came in from the southern border. During this time citizenship was not solid for people of color and they were still at the mercy of discriminatory practices. In chapter two questions on wages, jobs, and lifestyle will be answered in the best way possible. 
     San Diego and El Paso were and are major hubs for immigration and where many immigrants took up permanent residence. While on the Mexican side their counter parts are Tijuana and Juarez respectively. Each of these cities have been impacted by immigration into the US and the culture and people within it are facts of that. The early twentieth century holds plenty of immigration history both on government policy but also within the life of immigrants on border towns. Crossing the border even in the early twentieth century was not a simple process. Those that crossed into these border towns were faced with a lot problems and instability. El Paso was under Jim Crow laws during this time which not only regulated people based on their race but on the amount of color a person had. Border towns were not a safe haven for immigrants to gather, but those that did come into the border towns left an impact on its culture. Chapter three can provide a more detailed history of this culture and relationship that existed in and around El Paso and San Diego. 
     Throughout this book we hope to inform the readers of the history of border towns and immigrants at the early twentieth century. History is so easily viewed as one note or one event that triggered something but there are many aspects behind immigration. Especially at the US's southern border the dynamics have drastically changed in the past hundred years. 
• 1 2021-04-24T16:44:18-07:00 Concerns With Crossing the Border 4 plain 2021-05-02T15:38:34-07:00 The early twentieth century was filled with circular migration with the coming and going of Mexican immigrants. Mexico was home for these men and they just needed to be in a place where they could provide a better life since Mexico was in a state of turmoil. Surprisingly Mexico had a more accurate account of the coming and goings of Mexican citizens entering and leaving the US. The US had an under founded newly formed Border Patrol making containing the southern border a difficult mission. Between the San Diego and Tijuana border it slowly became more militarized as the twentieth century progressed.
  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.