America’s History at the US/Mexico Border

In this helpful video from Vox, we are looking at the racist and terrible history of our treatment of Mexican and Hispanic immigrants at the southern border. As eugenics spread and was popular in the early 20th century, Mexican immigrants were targeted as being dirty, unclean, and full of disease (sound familiar?). This resulted in immigration officials shaving their heads and bathing them in vinegar and gasoline. The process of inspecting people, while completely nude, and making them bathe in a flammable chemical would later inspire the Nazis as they began to execute “The Final Solution.” Like so many other parts of the Holocaust, the “delousing” showers masquandering as death chambers was a uniquely American invention.