By: Daniel Nardini

The first real wave of Mexican immigrants to Illinois occurred in the 1910’s. This was largely due to the Mexican Revolution (1910 to 1920) which caused both social and economic chaos throughout the decade in Mexico. Illinois became a sanctuary state for Mexicans seeking peace. More Mexicans came to Illinois in the 1920’s primarily for work. Illinois became the mecca for both American and immigrant labor due to its burgeoning agriculture and industries. At the same time, Mexicans also worked on Illinois’ growing railroad network. This was true in Savanna, Illinois, where Mexican railroad workers settled, forming a small community in that city where their descendants remain to this day. The Immigration Reform Act of 1924 (also known as the Johnson-Reed Act), greatly curtailed immigration from around the world by creating strict immigration quotas for countries. However, this Act did not apply to immigrants from the Americas, so Mexican immigration continued.

Mexican immigrant communities were becoming established in industrial sectors around the Calumet area as well as the Back of the Yards area. The 1930’s was a disaster for the Mexican American community in Illinois. With record high unemployment rates, many Mexican workers found themselves unemployed. To make matters worse, many U.S. states worked to expel Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent back to Mexico. By 1940, there were only an estimated 16,000 Mexicans left in Chicago. This again changed dramatically when the United States entered World War II. Suddenly not only did those Mexicans and Mexican Americans who remained in Chicago and Illinois become part of the war effort, but many Mexican immigrants (and even those expelled the previous decade) came to Illinois and filled the labor shortages due to all of the American able-bodied men drafted for the armed forces to fight in the European and Pacific war theaters. By the 1950’s, the Mexican American community in Chicago had grown to 56,000, and began to move to other parts of the city. Mexican Americans began to establish themselves in the Pilsen community and the Little Village communities by the 1970’s and 1980’s. In the beginning of the 21st Century, Mexican American communities not only were created in Chicago area suburban towns but through the state of Illinois.

Today, Mexican immigrants and Americans of Mexican descent make up 13.4 percent of the overall population of Illinois. Illinois has the seventh largest Mexican American population in the United States, and the Mexican American community in Illinois is the single largest Latino population in the state. Without question, the Mexican American community of Illinois is a vital link to Mexico, and this link is of consequence because Illinois and Mexico are linked by both history, economics, and those Mexican Americans who live Illinois as well as Illinois residents living in Mexico. To underline this link further, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker traveled to Mexico City in late April to early March of this year leading a 70 person trade mission. The mission was tasked with further cooperation and expansion of trade between Mexico and Illinois in manufacturing, agriculture and finance. The mission was am effort by Pritzker to keep the ties between Illinois and Mexico stable.