Since the 19th century, Politicians have argued that Mexicans were slow, lazy and more likely to end up on welfare or commit crimes, while farm owners argued that the lower mental capacity of the Mexican made him ideal for repetitive manual labor in the fields. Politicians, fearing civil unrest caused by the Great Depression, found a scapegoat in the Mexican and Mexican American populations. Due to an absolute disregard for basic human rights by both sides, thousands of legal and illegal Mexican immigrants fled to Mexico out of
