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Mexican instates the so-called "Mexican Decree," banning immigration from the U.S. into Mexico. This was following the report made by Manuel de Mier y Terán who noted the potential threat of U.S. annexation of Mexico's northern territory -
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 effectively banned immigration from Chinese laborers into the U.S. The effect of this law was to turn Mexico into a hub for smuggling Chinese immigrants across the border, primarily from the cities of Ensenada, Guaymas, and Mazatlán (Border Games 32) -
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The U.S. Border Patrol is founded in 1924 with a $1 million budget and a force of about 450 officers. Most of their efforts in the U.S. Southwest was focused on stymieing immigration of European and Asian immigrants. By contrast, Mexican migrant laborers were perceived largely positively as temporary, mobile, flexible and cheap. They were tolerated and deported when no longer needed. (Border Games 33) -
Following U.S. prohibition of alcohol, there was a steady increase in the numbers of U.S. Customs agents, rising from 111 in 1925 to 723 in 1930 (Border Games 30
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U.S. federal program meant to encourage cheap migrant labor to support the agribusiness while hoping to inhibit illegal immigration.
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Law enforcement initiative initiated under President Eisenhower to deport hundreds of thousands of Mexican migrants. Many citizens of Mexican descent were also deported under this intiative. -
CBS airs the documentary Harvest of Shame, reported by Edward R. Murrow, depicting the horrible labor conditions of illegal Mexican migrant workers. The documentary proved embarrassing to the Eisenhower administration and gave ballast to union workers calling for the end of the guest-worker Bracero program -
Also known as the Hart-Celler Act, this law opened up immigration from other parts of Europe and from Asia, as well as imposed a 120,000-person limit of immigrants from other parts of the Western Hemisphere, the first time in U.S. history. -
To put pressure on the Mexican government, the Nixon administration from September until October enforced a rigorous check of vehicles along the southwest border that created enormous traffic jams and impaired local economies of border cities. Mexican tourist and agricultural economies were especially hurt. The US relaxed pressure only after promises by the Mex. govt. to enact more rigorous anti-drug laws. -
A CIA-backed effort to overthrow left-wing socialist govts. throughout Latin America and to assassinate its leaders. Part of this included Mexico's participation in which they used herbicides to eradicate opium and marijuana crops in the northern states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. As a result, US marijuana market fell from 75% (1976) to as low as 4% (1989); US heroin market fell from 67% (1976) to 25% (1980). Overall marked a shift in strategy to targeting drug supply (Border Games 41)
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Concentrating resources in southeast Florida, federal cocaine seizures increase from 2 tons in 1981 to 27 tons in 1986 to 100 tons in 1989. Despite this, cocaine imports more than doubled between 1984 and 1989 (Border Games)
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Between 1985 and 1991, the Department of Justice confiscated over $1.5 billion in illegal assets, profits which directly go to the state. This illustrates how in some cases smuggling helps to support the state economically (Border Games 25)
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For the first time in US history, drugs are named as a national security threat by President Ronald Reagan -
An effect of the IRCA was that border apprehension for these years dropped by half from 1.6 million to fewer than 855,000. However, beginning in 1990 and onward, these numbers returned to pre-IRCA level. Meanwhile, some 2 million Mexicans were granted legal status under the IRCA (Border Games 39)
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The IRCA introduced employer sanctions for employing illegal migrant workers, authorized expansion of the Border Patrol, and offered a legalization program especially tailored to agricultural workers. Some 2 million Mexican people were granted legal status through this Act Some unintended consequences included migrant workers who originally returned to Mexico came back to seek legal status and many legalized under IRCA helped the irrival of new undocumented immigrants (Border Patrol 38) -
At the Foreign Affairs Committee task force hearing, DEA administrator David Westrate testified before congress that the enforcement crackdown in the Southeast had the unintended consequence of redirecting cocaine shipments to the US Southwes -
Retired General Barry R. MacCaffrey testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control that there were 12,000 federal law enforcement personnel on the border, in contrast to 1987 in which "it was a fraction of that, so there is a huge, sensible, aggressive effort to protect the American people" (Border Games)