"Illegal" Immigration

Americans easily forget history. It was not always the case that illegal aliens streamed North across the Mexican-American border. Throughout the 1820s Americans streamed South and West into Mexican territory. However Mexico would not allow slavery and the folks who were entering Mexican territory wanted to own slaves. The Mexican government became alarmed and outlawed the immigration.
Typical of American foreign policy, President Polk (a slave holder himself), conjured up an attack on American soil by the Mexican Army. He said “American blood had been shed on American soil”. Many in the North knew this was a lie (including the freshman congressman Abraham Lincoln) but Polk successfully convinced congress to let him wage war on Mexico. In 1846 the war was begun and by 1848 the territories from Texas to Southern Oregon were conquered and annexed into the United States of America. It was, in my view, indefensible imperialism at its worst. The ill will engendered by this act, among Americans themselves, was the catalyst for the Civil War.
The perpetuation of the myth of the Alamo is a dishonest exploitation of our history. The fact is that the defenders of the Alamo fought for white supremacy and slavery.
The vast territory (over 500,000 square miles) taken from Mexico included Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah. Now many Americans, ignorant of their own sordid history, bristle with anger over what they perceive as illegal entry into “our” country by Mexicans. But to many of the Mexicans who are entering the U.S. it is their country which was taken from them! They are just coming home.

Mexico 1800