1

Mexican Americans and Their Experience In the United States

Payton Layne

Psychology Department, Sinclar College

PSY.1100: General Psychology

Dr. Lora Firman

11 April 2021
 2

Research

The first Mexican Americans can be traced back to 1848 after the Mexican American War when

100,000 Mexicans who resided in the recently acquired U.S. territory were made U.S. citizens.

Since 1848, the number of Hispanics of Mexican origin in the U.S. has risen to 11% of the total

U.S. population. As of 2012, 64% of all Mexican Americans were born in the United States

(Mastropasqua). Much of the Mexican American population resides in the southwest part of the

United States such as California and Texas.

The experiences of Mexicans in the United States have been debated. There are different

opinions on how severe Mexican Americans have been racialized and the effects it has had on

their ability to integrate into U.S. society. One argument is that Mexican Americans are similar

to European Americans who came more than a century ago and have been able to fully

participate in society. The other argument is that Mexican Americans have been racialized

throughout U.S. history which has limited their participation in society. A factor that has

contributed to how much racism a Mexican American has faced is the darkness of their skin.

Since the racial heritage of Mexicans is a mix between European, Indigenous, and African, the

skin color of each Mexican varies. Mexican Americans that are darker have been known to face

more racial barriers limiting them to mostly working-class jobs and preventing them from

integrating into the middle class (Ortiz & Telles). According to research, Mexican Americans

have lower levels of education than both Whites and Blacks. This is a result of many Mexican

immigrants having poor backgrounds immigrating to the United States and filling the lowest paid

jobs.
 3

Interview

I interviewed a Mexican American woman who has lived in California her whole life. Her

grandparents immigrated to the United States from Mexico. As a Mexican American, she said

that she has not experienced any racism in America but has been around people that have said

Mexican jokes. She said that she has not been socially challenged or has experienced any

disadvantages from being Mexican American. Instead, she said that being part Mexican has had

a positive impact on her life.

In general, she said that people typically associate Mexican American’s with being

hardworking and family oriented which they are proud to be known for. She also wants people to

know that Mexican American’s are loving and loyal which she says is overshadowed from the

constant news about illegal immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico. She says that

Mexican’s can sometimes get a bad reputation because of illegal immigration being in the news

but that the majority of Mexican American’s are genuine good people and are thankful for the

opportunities they have in the United States.

Overall, she wanted to get across that Mexican Americans are very family oriented and

very grateful. The reason many Mexican Americans try to come to the U.S. is to have a better

life for themselves and their children. She says that although gangs and news of illegal

immigrants can create a negative view of Mexicans, the majority of Mexican Americans should

be viewed as loving and kind people.

 4

Personal Reflection

My view of Mexican American's has changed after researching and learning about them. Before

researching, I did not know how family-oriented they are, and how truly grateful many of them

are. In today’s world, many Americans have become ungrateful of being able to live in America.

However, many Mexican Americas have had it worse and recognize that being in America is a

huge privilege itself. I have also realized that this a reason why Mexican Americans are such

hard workers. They understand how many of their ancestors still in Mexico do not have the

opportunities they have in the United States and it drives them to work hard. Learning this has

caused my respect for Mexican Americans to go up.

I also have more compassion for the thousands of Mexicans trying to illegally come into the

United States. While I still believe everyone should come here legally, I now have a better

understanding of what the typical Mexican American stands for and that the majority of them are

great people wanting to contribute to society.

 5

References

Mastropasqua, K. (2020, December 17). The Mexican-American COMMUNITY: Data and

RESEARCH ROUNDUP. https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/mexican-

american-community-data-research-roundup/.

Ortiz, V., & Telles, E. (2012, April). Racial identity and Racial treatment of Mexican Americans.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3846170/.