Mexican-Americans were chronic victims of land seizures throughout the 19th century, fostered by both the boom in agriculture and ranching, but also by the discovery of gold in California and copper, silver and zinc in Arizona and New Mexico. Yet while expelled, the Mexican worker was in turn recruited by the developers of the railroad. Initially the western railroads were built largely by Chinese labor, but the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1883 resulted in the enlistment of Mexican labor to complete the job.

An influx of Mexican immigrants occurred after the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the Mexican government's inability to improve living conditions in the country. Thousands of Mexican laborers crossed the border, lured by the promise of economic salvation in the United States. Political events again inspired a desire for Mexican workers, as labor shortages brought about by World War I proved a boon to Mexican-American employment.

The creation of the U.S. Border Patrol in 1924 had a significant and enduring impact on the Mexican worker, spawning subsequent spikes in deportations and the widespread acceptance of the term "illegal alien."