America or Mexico?By Evelyn Mora & Brenda Flores

Choosing

.• After the Mexican American War in 1848 many Mexicans had to decide to stay in the U.S.A or move south to Mexico.

The First Mexican Immigrants

• The first Mexican immigrants worked in the fields for low pay and without insurance.

The Bracero Program

• In 1941 the U.S and Mexican government created the Bracero Program, where Mexican workers were brought to work in US fields. They were supposed to be paid the same amount as other workers

Immigrants• There are 73 million immigrants and children of immigrants in the United States.

Education in the 1990’s

• California and other states voted against bilingual programs, where students were taught in English and Spanish

• It was really hard for immigrants to get into college

Graduating• Each year approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school.

• These students are culturally American, growing up here and often having little attachment to their country of birth.

The Alien Minors Act or

Dream Act• The Alien Minors Act was proposed in 2001. It would have provided legal status to young people brought into the U.S. as children by their parents.

The Dream Act• The Dream Act would have given undocumented immigrants money to attend college and to become US citizens.

• It did not have enough votes to pass and immigrant students were disappointed.

The California Dream Act

• In 2011 California signed a state dream act, which allows children of undocumented workers to received in state-tuition and financial aid for California schools.

Works Cited

Mexican Immigration.U*X* Lencyclopedian of U.S History. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel e. Brannen Jr. and Rebecca Valentine. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Sarah Hermsen. Vol.5. Detroit.5. Detroit: UXL,2009.997_1002.Gale student Resources In Context. Web. 10 May 2012