Bill to be Proposed for Mexican Repatriation Investigation

Photo Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Brooks O. Hubbard IV, 2011 – Creative Commons 2.0

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard of California announced her plans to introduce a bill in January that will investigate the history of the “Mexican Repatriation” of the 1930s.

What Was the Mexican Repatriation?

Unfortunately, many states do not have the Mexican Repatriation as a part of their US History courses. In case you are not aware, the Mexican Repatriation was the removal of nearly a million people of Mexican descent between 1929 and 1939. Pressures of the Great Depression caused aggravation towards the Mexican-American community, thus President Herbert Hoover authorized the forcible removal of people of Mexican descent regardless of legal US citizenship.

Details of the Mexican Repatriation Bill

H.R. 6314 will form a commission of the members appointed by the President, two members appointed from the House of Representatives, and another two members from the Senate to investigate the facts of the Mexican Repatriation. The focus of investigations, according to Congresswoman Royal-Allard, is to look into the impact on communities because of the removals, and examine federal and state conditions leading to the removals. The commission will then give a written report to Congress of its findings.

“It is long past time for us to have a complete accounting of this dark period in our nation’s history. As the first Mexican-American women elected to Congress, I have been proud to call for the first ever official inquiry into the Mexican Repatriation… This commission will add its voice and power to the continued efforts of advocates throughout the country to ensure the Mexican Repatriation is never forgotten and never repeated,” said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.