A film by Vicente Serrano
MeChicano Films

About the film

“A Forgotten Injustice” is Vicente Serrano’s opera prima, and the first documentary that uncovers the story of almost two million Mexican Americans and U.S. citizens, who were forced out of the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

In the 1930s, the United States was devastated by the crash of the stock market and many officials thought that Mexicans were taking jobs and public services from “real” Americans. They came up with the idea of solving the economic problems of the country by deporting as many Mexicans as possible.

“A Forgotten Injustice” is the result of an extensive investigation headed by journalist Vicente Serrano. Serrano traveled across the country and Mexico to capture the experiences of these men and women, many still living in extreme poverty in rural areas in Mexico. Some of the survivors are coming back to the U.S almost 80 years later. “They should apologize for what they have done to us before we die and before the government commits the same mistakes,” exclaimed Emilia Castañeda who was born in Los Angeles and forced to leave the U.S with her family in the 30s.

https://www.npr.org/player/embed/566877368/566877369

The unveiling of the Mexican “Repatriation” Apology Monument in Los Angeles at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in 2012.

The monument is to recognize Mexican legal residents in California and their American-born children who were unconstitutionally removed from their homes and deported to Mexico during the Great Depression.

SF State Associate Professor of Sociology Marla Ramirez’s research into mass removals in the 1930s focuses on how it affected the children and grandchildren of Mexican-Americans who were repatriated.

By Matt Reed

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