Discrimination Against Mexican Americans

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Preceding the post World War period, undisguised discrimination against Mexican Americans had disseminated amongst the Southwest regions. Often classified as substandard to American society, individuals of Mexican ancestry were underrepresented as constituents in the board of jury. In Jackson County of Edna, Texas, for the last twenty-five years, any individual attached to distinctive indicators of Spanish heritage such as a Spanish surname were denied admittance into serving jury. Consequently, a lack of representation from peers in the court of law was demonstrated in the case of the accused, Pete Hernandez in the murder of Jose Espinosa in 1950. The judicial system’s inbuilt partiality against minority classes is also displayed …show more content…
Sensationalized accounts of the event was manipulated by the media to publicize anti-Mexican animosity. At a socio-economic disadvantage, Mexican Americans were living under poor housing conditions and inadequate sanitation. Without the means of sufficient education opportunities due to segregated public schools, Plyler v. Doe presented that many undocumented immigrant children of Mexican descent fell under the scope of the Equal Protection Clause, and could not under law, be inhibited from the access of public schools.
The cases of discrimination against individuals of Mexican ancestry denotes a similar case of a deficiency in fair representation in the Castenada v. Partida court case. “It is no longer open to dispute that Mexican Americans are a clearly identifiable class” states a defendant in concerns of underrepresentation of Texas juries. Relying heavily on the Hernandez v Texas case, the intent was to accentuate the discrepancy of equal protection and
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Fair treatment in the supreme court is relied heavily on the justice system’s aptness in honoring an unbiased approach to cases involving accusations against people of color. Recognition of the Hispanic community as well as other ethnic and minority groups as an equivalent to American society is a fundamental basis in achieving basic protection and equality. Underlying the efforts of securing these rights for people of Hispanic ancestry, is the crux of eradicating racial prejudice and discrimination. In the absence of such elemental entitlements, resulting consequences would rouse social and political

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