on brought much hardship to Mexicans as well as Americans. Eventhough Mexicans were also hard hit by the depression, they still “…seemed to bear the brunt of Americans’ resentment about the economic catastrophe.”(Gutierrez 73). As unemployment numbers continued to climb, the Government took action to rid America of Mexican immigrants. During this time period both the public and the Government were in favor of repatriation. In addition to the repatriation campaigns, employers were laying off Mexican workers in order to give some of those jobs to Americans.For the most part, the American public believed that Mexican migratory workers were one of the causes of the depression. The common argument was that Mexican immigrants take jobs for lower wages and not only take them from Americans but depress wages also. With this in mind the public and the Government took part in repatriation projects. The largest of such repatriation projects went down in Los Angeles. Taking part in this major effort to help eliminate the immigrant problem were the U.S. Department of Labor and Los Angeles City and County officials. This project that took place in 1930 and 1931 pressured tens of thousands Mexicans out of the country along with their American-born children (Gutierrez 72). In some cases the Government, acting through consulates, would finance a Mexican family’s exodus of America. Criminals and Mexicans who were receiving welfare were practically hunted down for deportation. Local Governments found it cheaper to deport Mexicans all the way into Central Mexico rather than provide them with social services. Los Angeles County estimated that a trainload of 6,024 Mexicans would cost an upward of $77,000 and if this group were to stay, they would cost about $425,000 to maintain them for a year (Cardoso 147). In some areas of the country during the depression, Mexican workers were laid off so that Americans could be...
