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State Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) is spearheading legislation to establish a memorial in Los Angeles County to honor the Mexican Repatriation of the 1930s. As a Bay Area representative, Becker is also focused on raising awareness locally, with plans to organize a Bay Area event, potentially in October, to highlight the significance of this history within his community.
To address California’s past involvement in the Mexican Repatriation, the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization voted unanimously in favor of a bill to memorialize the Repatriation on Aug. 14.
Senate Bill 537, authored by Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) and Becker, calls for a state commemoration in the form of a statue or other appropriate memorialization.
“With today’s vote, the Mexican Repatriation Memorial is getting closer to becoming a reality,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez. “We need to remember this dark chapter in our history to avoid repeating past mistakes and to support justice and healing for Mexican American families and all Latinos.
The Mexican Repatriation was passed during the Great Depression in the 1930s. It aimed at deporting Mexican-Americans due to the scarcity of jobs. Forty to 80% of the targeted population were United States citizens. It is the only occurrence of forced deportation of citizens and non-citizens based on race and implemented through presidential orders. The number of people expelled is estimated to be between 300,000 and 2 million.
For Becker, the inspiration to get involved in this effort came from a high school student’s research report.
“I hadn’t learned about it in school and I was so upset,” said Becker. “I kept asking a lot of people and most of them didn’t know about it either.”
That’s when he decided more efforts need to be made to recognize this dark historical chapter, to honor the victims and to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.
Becker represents California’s 13th Senate District, covering most of San Mateo County and the northern region of Santa Clara County.
As for the state commemoration, no location has been chosen yet, but a nonprofit is being created to raise $5-10 million for the memorial.
Efforts to include this history in school curricula are also being considered as part of a longer-term initiative.
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