Historic formal apology Ceremony For the 1930s Mexican American Deportations
Sunday February 26, 2012, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 North Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2828: Historic formal apology ceremony and plaque installation to survivors and or family members of the 1930s Mexican American deportations
and repatriation which is part of Calif. SB 670. The apology became law in 2006. These expulsions often referred to as “repatriation” were violations of U.S. citizen rights and legal Mexican residents.The Plaque to be dedicated will read:FORCED REMOVAL OF MEXICAN AMERICANS DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSIONBeginning in 1929, government authorities and certain private sector entities in California and throughout the United States undertook an aggressive program to forcibly remove persons of Mexican ancestry from the United States. In California alone, approximately 400,000 American citizens and legal residents of Mexican ancestry were forced to leave and go to Mexico. In total, an estimated 2 million people of Mexican ancestry were forcibly relocated to Mexico.
Approximately 1.2 million of these people were United States citizens born in the United States.Throughout California, including areas in downtown Los Angeles near this monument, massive raids were conducted in Mexican American communities. These raids targeted persons of Mexican ancestry and indiscriminately characterized these persons as “illegal aliens” even when they were United States citizens or legal residents. These raids resulted in the clandestine removal of thousands of people, many of whom were never able to return to the United States, denied their right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the American dream in their country of birth.As publicly acknowledged by the California State Legislature in California Government Code § 8722 (2005), the State of California apologizes to those individuals that were victims of this “repatriation” program for the fundamental violations of their basic civil liberties and constitutional rights committed during the period of illegal deportation and coerced emigration.SURVIVORS COMMENTS:
- “I just always wanted to come home.” – Teresa Martínez
- “If they hadn’t sent us to Mexico, we wouldn’t have had to go through all these hardships. There was no reason to do this because we were American citizens.” – Emilia Castañeda
- “I just wanted to serve my country.” – Rúben Jiménez
Ceremony & Program: Sunday, February 26, 2012
LOCATION:
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2828
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM (Presentations, Proclamations and Statements)
La Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-2828
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM (Presentations, Proclamations and Statements)
MC: Eva Longoria or Tom Saenz
Father Richard Estrada: Benediction
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel
Welcome, Introductions, Acknowledgments, etc.
The Honorable Esteban Torres
* His personal story of father’s repatriation
The Honorable Cruz Reynoso
* His family’s repatriation
Dolores Huerta
* Her personal story
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
* Present City of Los Angeles proclamation
Supervisor Gloria Molina
* Present County of Los Angeles proclamation
Gov. Jerry Brown
* Present State of California proclamation
* Possible Alternatives: Lt. Gov Newsom, Kamala Harris, Darrell Steinberg, John Perez
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar
* Present letter from President Obama
Father Richard Estrada: Benediction
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel
Welcome, Introductions, Acknowledgments, etc.
The Honorable Esteban Torres
* His personal story of father’s repatriation
The Honorable Cruz Reynoso
* His family’s repatriation
Dolores Huerta
* Her personal story
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
* Present City of Los Angeles proclamation
Supervisor Gloria Molina
* Present County of Los Angeles proclamation
Gov. Jerry Brown
* Present State of California proclamation
* Possible Alternatives: Lt. Gov Newsom, Kamala Harris, Darrell Steinberg, John Perez
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar
* Present letter from President Obama
Friday August 22nd, 2014 @ 08:42 PM
My parents were of this generation. My grandmother’s family (Figueroa) had lived in the L.A. area for generations. They were not deported, but our family suffered from financial deprivation and endemic racism, and I believe along with a public apology from the present government we ought to get financial reparation for many lives were ruined simply through the process of disenfranchisement. There’s so much to say that I’ve decided to write a book about this shameful and difficult era.
Saturday August 23rd, 2014 @ 06:47 PM
Hi Laura, and thank you for your insight. You may be also be interested in our next project “Whitewashed Adobe: The Rise of Los Angeles” about LA’s first 100 years as an American city. We address this part of history in-depth. We are still filming, but in the meantime I invite you to visit the website: http://www.whitewashedadobe.com. And please keep us posted about your book, we would love to read it. Thank you so much for joining us!