Shades of Whiteness: The Mexican American Experience in Relation to Anglos and Blacks

In 1965, the Congress of the United States passed an amendment (the Hart-Cellar Act) to the Immigration and Nationality Act that abolished discrimination based on national origin and enabled, for the first time, large-scale immigration from all countries. Prior to 1965, the majority of immigrants to the UnitedStates originated from Europe; however, since passage of the amendment, increasing numbers of immigrants have come from Asia and Latin America. In fact, post-1965 immigration, which Pedraza (1996) labeled the “Fourth Wave of Immigration,” has led to a large increase in the Asian and Latino populations in the United States.