La Matanza (1910–1920)

The Mexican Revolution started in 1910. Mexican refugees, looking to escape the violence of the revolution, began migrating to Texas, causing the Mexican population in the U.S. to triple during the 1910s.[12] The revolution also caused outbursts of violence along the Texas–Mexico border, including raiding by bandits from Mexico and retaliatory counter-raids by Americans.[2] Prior to 1914, the Carrancistas were responsible for most attacks along the border, but in January 1915 rebels known as Seditionistas drafted the Plan of San Diego and began launching their own raids. The plan called for a race war to rid the American border states of their Anglo-American population and for Mexico to annex the states. They never launched a full-scale invasion of the United States, resorting to conducting small raids into Texas. Much of the fighting involved the Texas Ranger Division, although the United States Army also engaged in small unit actions with bands of Seditionista raiders.[13][14] Mexican rebels from the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Chihuahua carried out a series of raids called the Bandit War in Texas, beginning in 1914 and culminating in 1919. Americans in the Lower Rio Grande Valley feared losing both their land and control over their country. The growing Mexican population in Texas further contributed to the threat of the revolution.[12] Tensions between Mexico and the United States eventually led to violence between white Americans and Mexicans, and the lynching of Mexican ethnics.[2]

The Plan of San Diego was drafted in 1915 by Mexican rebels.[9] It involved Mexicans, Native Americans, and African Americans taking land from the white population by the Mexican, Native American, and African-American races in a series of raids and attacks. The territories that they planned to invade were Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California. It also included the killing of all white males over the age of 16 years. Although the rebels were never able to launch a full-scale invasion of the lands that they demanded, they were able to conduct a series of raids targeted at white Americans. In total, 30 raids into Texas destroyed large amounts of property and killed 21 Americans.[15] In turn, the Plan of San Diego further increased the prevalence of anti-Mexican sentiment during La Matanza.[9] About 400 Anglo-Texans were killed total in unrest and attacks along the border during the 1910s, and much property was destroyed.[16]

During the period from August 1915 to June 1916 alone, anywhere from 100 to 300 murders of Mexicans were recorded. Many murders went unreported. This indiscriminate murder of Mexicans, particularly in South Texas, caused many to flee to Mexico. This exodus was reportedly so widespread that "farmers raised concerns because their field laborers were fleeing to Mexico." One farmer said that the workforce had "evaporated" in a very short period. Even Mexican landowners fled to Mexico and in some cases left thousands of cattle behind because of their urgency. The majority of this violence was carried out by the state through the Texas Ranger Division.[10] During this period, a Anglo recalled "all the Rangers had to was get a suspicion on somebody, any little thing, and they would take 'em out and shoot 'em down."[6]

During the Mexican Revolution, the Texas Rangers were known for violence against Mexicans, including American residents of Mexican origin. Their anti-Mexican sentiment was fueled by the ongoing revolution and the Plan of San Diego. The Mexican population, which knew the Rangers for brutality, gave them the name "los diablos tejanos", which means "the Texan devils".[9] Many accounts of the Rangers' violence were recorded throughout La Matanza.[12] The organization occasionally worked with white vigilantes. They were legally supported by the Texas Legislature.[9]

Shortly after this period, Mexican laborers had to be imported from Mexico in order to service white farmers because the violence had caused so many Mexican people to flee the country. Some 50,000 Mexican laborers were imported into the US by 1920. This was deemed even more urgent in Texas since "Black labor had moved to the cities," and therefore there was a constant demand for Mexican labor. Despite the fact that some Anglos still demonstrated their racism, with signs stating "Keep out the Mongrel Mexicans" and to "Lock the Back Door" because they perceived Mexicans as "the most undesirable of all peoples," Mexican labor was cheap for Anglos and they were in desperate need of it. However, as soon as Mexicans started to organize and attempt to form unions in the early 20th century, they were faced with massive deportations such as the Mexican Repatriation (1929-1936) as well as everyday harassment.[6]

According to CNN, descendants of victims of La Matanza predicted as early as July 2019 that anti-immigrant sentiment could lead to violence, such as that in the 2019 El Paso shooting, where 22 people were killed and 24 injured in an El Paso Walmart.[17]

• Carrigan, W. D., & Webb, C. (2013). Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Keil, R., & McBride, E. (2002). Bosque Bonito: Violent times along the borderland during the Mexican Revolution. Alpine, TX: Sul Ross State University, Center for Big Bend Studies.
• Levario, M. A. (2012). Militarizing the Border: When Mexicans Became the Enemy. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press.
• Martinez, Monica Muñoz. (2018).The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674976436
• Villanueva, N. (2017). The Lynching of Mexicans in the Texas Borderlands. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.

• Bandit War