The Atlantic
America Never Wanted the Tired, Poor, Huddled Masses
The U.S. is a diverse nation of immigrants but it was not intended to be, and its historical biases continue to haunt the present.
This article was published online on April 5, 2021.
When David Dorado Romo was a boy growing up in El Paso, Texas, his great-aunt Adela told him about the day the U.S. Border Patrol melted her favorite shoes. Romo’s aunt was Mexican and had a visa that allowed her to commute into South Texas for her job as a maid. Every week she had to report to a Border Patrol station, in accordance with a program that ran from 1917 into the 1930s requiring most Mexican immigrants to bathe in government offices before entering the United States. She would dress up in her nicest clothing, because those who looked dirty or were thought to have lice were bathed in a mixture of kerosene and vinegar. Years later, when Romo visited the National Archives outside Washington, D.C., he found photos and records
Mexico
Germany
Afghanistan
United-states
India
Laos
China
Vietnam
Republic-of
California
Chinese
American