ABSTRACT
“IT’S NOT MEXICANS BUT CALIFORNIA THAT MIGRATED to the United States.” This simple statement refers to the fact that prior to 1848, Mexico included what is today the southwestern region of the United States, so that subsequent Mexican immigrants and their descendants found themselves living and working in conquered territory. In fact, one could argue that California migrated north “illegally.” Another popular saying refers to contemporary Mexican immigration as la reconquista (the reconquest). Although the large Chicano or U.S.-born population of Mexican descent is indeed largely the outcome of post-1848 immigration, the term reconquista misrepresents the legacy of labor exploitation and racial subordination that Mexican immigrants and Chicanos have endured in the United States. 1
