The Border | Text Timeline

pre-1519	U.S.-Mexico border region is inhabited by many Native American groups who have lived in the area for centuries.
1519-1521	Hernan Cortes conquers central Mexico.
1535	Spain establishes colonial government in Mexico.
1819	Adam-Onis Treaty: U.S.-Mexico boundary established by Spain and the United States.
1821	Mexico wins independence from Spain.
1821	Mexico permits Stephen F. Austin to start Texas colonization.
1824	Mexico becomes a republic.
1835-1836	Struggle Over Texan Independence.
1842	Juan Seguín is elected Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, but is forced to flee in response to Anglo aggression.
1846	The U.S. Mexico war begins.
1847	U.S. forces under General Winfield Scott enter Mexico City; peace negotiations with Mexico begin.
1848	The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo brings the U.S.-Mexican War to an end.
1848	Gold is discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the Sacramento Valley area of California. By 1849, large numbers of U.S. pioneers and immigrants from around the world travel to the mining area. Many gold seekers set up camps on Mexican-held land, forcing out some of the original landowners.
1850	The Foreign Miners Tax is levied; Mexican miners are among the hardest hit.
1851	The California Land Act attempts to resolve property disputes between Anglos and Mexican Americans. California regions with the largest Mexican American populations are taxed more than any other region in the state.
1853	The Gadsden Purchase Treaty is signed.
1853	The Surveyor of General Claims Office is established in New Mexico, though claims by Mexican Americans cannot be processed fast enough to prevent take-overs.
1857	Anglo businessmen try to push Mexican teamsters out of south Texas, violating the guarantees of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1861	During the 1860s, Tiburcio Vásquez, Joaquín Murieta, and others are labeled "bandits" for resisting the take-over of lands held by Mexican Americans in California.
1862	France, Britain, and Spain attempt to force Benito Juarez’s government to repay debts owed. Even thought Britain and Spain withdraw, the French remain, hoping to establish a new empire. On May 5 (Cinco de Mayo), mestizo and Zapotec soldiers defeat the French army in the Battle of Puebla.
1867	Napoleon III of France withdraws his support from Maximilian, the Austrian archduke who had been made Emperor of Mexico, and Benito Juárez regains control of Mexico.
1883	Chinese labor is reduced because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, and railroad companies search for alternative sources of cheap labor. Mexican workers are increasingly recruited.
1890	Copper mining continues to lure people to Arizona, driving more Mexican Americans from their lands.
1890	Increasingly, Mexican Americans work for the railroads. Railroad construction continues throughout the early 20th century.
1900	The corrido (ballad) of the border becomes popular as a musical form.
1900	Copper, silver, and zinc are found in Arizona and New Mexico; Texas begins to mine salt, leading to further expulsion of Mexican American land owners.
1904	The first border patrol is established to stop Asian workers from coming into the United States through Mexico.
1910	Mexican Revolution begins. Thousands of Mexicans flee across the border for safety.
1910	At the New Mexican constitutional convention, Mexican American delegates mandate that both Spanish and English be used for all state business; to support the conditions of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1911	In Mexico, Porfirio Díaz is forced to dissolve his government because of a successful revolt led by Francisco Madero. To protect its citizens and property, the U.S. sends troops to the border, where fighting in the Mexican Revolution is so close that U.S. citizens gather to watch.
1914	President Woodrow Wilson sends troops to Veracruz, Mexico, in an effort to depose Victoriano Huerta, who soon resigns.
1914	U.S. Marines are held by Mexican authorities at Tampico, Mexico. Despite Mexico’s apology, President Wilson orders the U.S. fleet to attack and occupy Veracruz, Mexico to assert the rights of Americans.
1916	General John J. Pershing leads 10,000 American soldiers into Mexican territory in retaliation for a raid on Columbus, New Mexico by General Francisco "Pancho" Villa. After 11 months, Pershing is forced to return to the U.S. without ever catching sight of Villa. U.S.-Mexican relations suffer because of the action.
1917	A secret telegram from Germany to Mexico—proposing an armed alliance between the two countries—is published and causes the U.S. to enter World War I.
1917	In spite of President Wilson’s veto, an Immigration Act that mandates a literacy test for immigrants is passed.
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.
1924	Immigration Act of 1924 halts the flow of other immigrant groups, border stations are established to formally admit Mexican workers, and a tax is collected on each person entering.
1924	Largely due to a lack of immigration quotas, more than 89,000 Mexicans come into the United States on permanent visas, making 1924 the peak year for Mexican immigration.
1931	Mexican American parents successfully sue the school board in Lemon Grove, California to prevent the segregation of their children from Anglo children.
1934	San Antonio community leader Eleuterio Escobar forms La Liga Pro-Defensa Escolar (The School Improvement League) because of the gross inequity in spending he discovered between Mexican American and Anglo public schools.
1934	President Roosevelt’s "Good Neighbor Policy" starts, which opposes armed intervention by any foreign power in the Western Hemisphere.
1935	Novelist John Steinbeck publishes Tortilla Flat, a novel about Mexican American life in the United States.
1941	The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) protests discrimination by the Southern Pacific Railroad, which refuses to provide skilled apprenticeships to Mexican Americans.
1942	The bracero program begins, allowing Mexican nationals to temporarily work in the United States – primarily in the agricultural industry.
1945	Mexican American veterans return from the war and use their G.I. benefits for college education, purchasing homes, and furthering the economic growth of the community.
1945	Josephina Niggli publishes Mexican Village, consisting of ten stories exploring her identity as part Mexican, part Anglo.
1947	Backed by LULAC, a suit by Gonzalo Mendez against many California school districts causes the Federal District Court to rule that segregation in schools is unconstitutional. This sets the judicial precedent for the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which repeals the "separate but equal" concept.
1947	Harry S. Truman becomes the first president to visit Mexico City, laying a wreath at the foot of the U.S.-Mexican war monument to the Niños Heroes.
1948	World War II veterans organize the American G.I. Forum in Texas to fight against discrimination and promote the welfare of Mexican Americans.
1951	The Bracero program is revived.
1953	Operation Wetback: The U.S. Immigration Service deports more than 3.8 million people of Mexican heritage.
1954	The film Salt of the Earth is heralded by many as a true representation of Mexican Americans and their struggle.
1962	César Chávez organizes the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) in Delano, California.
1964	The first maquiladoras are established under the Border Industrialization Program; mass employment of cheap labor along the Mexican border by U.S. companies begins.
1964	The bracero program is finally repealed, and Mexican American labor leaders see an opportunity to work toward unionizing the farmworkers.
1965	The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 limits immigrants into the United States.
1974	The Mexican American Women's National Association (MANA) is established to advance the status of Mexican American women, promote leadership opportunities and work toward parity in the workplace.
1982	The largest increase of maquiladoras occurs after devaluation of the Mexican currency.
1994	The North American Free Trade Agreement -- NAFTA -- comes into affect, stimulating trade between the United States and Mexico. Massive increases in border populations occur due to the treaty.
1995	Ana Beatriz de Santiago, beauty queen of the U.S.-Mexico Sister Cities International Association, is detained for two hours by border agents on her way to a convention where she is to turn over her crown to the next queen. A customs agent reportedly lifted her dress and patted her stomach to determine whether she was pregnant. The Sister Cities Association formally complains to U.S. President Bill Clinton.
1996	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.
1996	The Clinton Administration takes credit for decriminalization of the border region, citing its increased funding of border police as major force in stopping crime. According to FBI reports, serious crime was down 30 percent in San Diego, Calif., 5 percent in Nogales, Ariz., 14 percent in El Paso, Texas and 20 percent in Brownsville, Texas.
1997	Clinton becomes the first president to visit Mexico since Jimmy Carter in 1979. He promises Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo that he will avoid "mass deportations" under the U.S. immigration policy.
1998	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.