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The Adams-Onis Treaty
A treaty is formed that defied a border which seperates the United States and Mexico. -
Independence
Mexico successfully wins their independence from Spain and is now on thier own to grow. -
The US Mexico war begins
Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico, went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for its peoples. By the war's end, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California, and the United States became a continental power. -
US-Mexican War Ends
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the U.S.-Mexican War. Signed on 2 February 1848, it is the oldest treaty still in force between the United States and Mexico. As a result of the treaty, the United States acquired more than 500,000 square miles of valuable territory and emerged as a world power in the late nineteenth century. -
Gadsden Purchase
Under the Gadsden Purchase, the United States pays $10 million for about 30,000 square miles that runs south of the Gila River, east to El Paso and west to California. The purchase includes Tucson. -
Border Patrol First Established
Mounted watchmen of the U.S. Immigration Service patrolled the border in an effort to prevent illegal crossings as early as 1904, but their efforts were irregular and undertaken only when resources permitted. The inspectors, usually called Mounted Guards, operated out of El Paso, Texas. Though they never totaled more than seventy-five, they patrolled as far west as California trying to restrict the flow of illegal Chinese immigration. -
Mexican Revolution
Thousands of Mexicans fled across the boarder to the Americas in hopes of finding work and a way of beginning a new life. This was when the job opportunities for them were booming. -
Immigration Act of 1921
The Immigration Act of 1921 restricts the immigration of Southern and Eastern Europeans. Agriculture lobbyists rally to block the movement to include Mexicans in the proposition. -
Operation Wetback
The U.S. Immigration Service deports more than 3.8 million people of Mexican heritage. Jobs were becoming too hard to come by for the American citizens and the immigration numbers were getting way out of hand. -
Immigration of 1965
The 1965 Act made the annual maximum of Eastern Hemisphere immigrants 170,000, and no more than 20,000 per country. Individual visas were granted with priority given to family reunification, attracting needed skills to the United States, and refugees. Since 1965, sources of immigration to the United States has shifted from Europe to Latin America and Asia. -
NAFTA
The North America Free Trade Agreement was between the US, Canada and Mexico.The Agreement will completely eliminate tariffs over the years to come and will dissolve many other trade barriers such as quotas. On the day of its advent, NAFTA immediately affected approximately half of the agricultural trade between the U.S. and Mexico. "Import sensitive" items—such as Mexico's corn and beans and the United States' orange juice and sugar—are planned to be free of tariffs over the next 15 years. -
Border Enhancements Under Clinton
Bill Clinton uses a strict approach to limiting illegal immigration in his re-election campaign in order to sway large electoral states, such as California and Texas. Under his direction, U.S. Border Patrols are bolstered, sensors are installed and 40 miles of 14-foot fence is built to deter the flow of illegal immigrants. -
Mexico and US work together
Bill Clinton signs a declaration with Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo committing their nations for the first time to devise a joint strategy for combating drug trafficking. -
House Bill 4437
House Bill 4437 is passed, calling for 700 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border at an estimated cost of $2.2 billion, and making illegal crossing into the United States a felony. -
Arizona Law SB- 1070
The passage of Arizona SB 1070, which allows law enforcement officials who have not been trained in immigration policy to demand papers from any Arizona residents they deem suspicious, is generally regarded as one of the most blatant examples of racial profiling legislation in U.S. history. Even as its status is currently being assessed by the federal court system, other states are considering similar legislation.
