Eric Najera (‘26), a History major, researched how Mexican immigrant communities responded to anti-immigration policies and rhetoric in the 20th century with mentorship from Dr. Hardeep Dhillon (Department of History). This research was supported by a Grant for Faculty Mentoring Undergraduate Research.
At first, I did not know what to expect from research, but I was excited to be able to investigate a topic that is close to me personally and is relevant to today’s political climate. Taking Professor Dhillon’s immigration-focused history classes is what sparked my interest in conducting research on this topic. Because my main focus was Mexican Immigration in the 20th century, I conducted this research in both Spanish and English languages. I utilized archives of Mexican newspapers to investigate how immigrant communities dealt with repatriation, anti-Mexican sentiment, and segregation attempts. I felt connected to the stories in the newspapers and found myself sending pictures of the newspapers to family and friends to discuss the arguments made in favor of and against Mexican immigrants. Many of the arguments against immigrants and legal advice given to immigrants in the 1900s were very similar to what is said today. Understanding the past helped me view present anti-immigrant rhetoric through a new lens and recognize that at least some of the American public has always seen the positives of immigration.
I could not have asked for a better topic for my first in-depth research experience. As a student who hopes to attend law school to study immigration law, this research aligned with my course of study, personal interests, and future career goals. Learning about different legal tactics used to favor plaintiffs and seeing how much work was put into immigrants’ challenging precedent has given me a different view of how the law functions.
Research can seem daunting at first, especially if you do not know where to begin. It can be scary to not know if what you’re doing is the right thing or if you're taking too long, but research has been one of the most rewarding experiences during my time as an undergraduate. Sometimes I was super excited to do research, and I’d find myself reading for hours and enjoying myself, but there were also times where I would search for days and still not find the sources I needed. That being said, both the good times and the harder ones were rewarding. Perseverance is strengthened through research.
Overall, I am proud to be able to have assisted Professor Dhillon in her research and to have used my native language, Spanish, to further research. I am glad to be able to shine a light on the struggles that immigrants have faced and hope that doing so change’s people’s impressions of the immigrant community.
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