ABSTRACT
The subject of immigration in the United States (US), as it pertains to those entering from Latin American nations, is a subject fraught with nationalism, xenophobia, political strife, and ongoing dysfunction. The US compelled the sovereign nation of Mexico to relinquish what was approximately half of its land mass into the custody of the US. In the early twentieth century, the US made several impactful decisions that would affect future immigrants, and particularly immigrants from Latin American countries. The dichotomy between Mexican and Cuban immigrants to the US also reveals the impetus for what makes them leave their nation of origin in the first place. Cuban President Fidel Castro ensured that many of the nation’s criminals and “undesirables” were sent to the US as a part of what came to be known as the Mariel Boat Lift.
