A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEXICAN IMMIGRATION IN WASHINGTON
Mexicans have been critical to the development of Washington since the 1774 Spanish exploration of the Olympic Peninsula. Before Washington attained statehood, Mexicans contributed to early economic development. After 1819, two main economies emerged: fur trapping and mining. Although Latinos were not essential to the fur trapping business, they created the foundation of the transportation system for the mining economy of the late nineteenth century. With the discovery of gold in British Columbia and Idaho during the late 1850s, many miners were prompted to go through what would become Washington and stopped there to restock on provisions. Mexican mule packers played an important role in this process; Mexican mule packers were in high demand because of their skill. While the rest of the state lacked a commercial overland transportation system, Walla Walla—which was the center of mining activity and by 1870 had a large Mexican population—had the region’s first dependable means of commercial transportation.
During the nineteenth century, Mexicans never settled permanently in Washington in large numbers. Instead, most Mexican immigrants traveled to Washington as fur trappers, miners, ranchers, and to lead mule-packing commercial transportation. But the political turmoil caused by the Mexican Revolution during 1910 to 1917 influenced many Mexicans to immigrate to the U.S. The agricultural development of Washington incentivized many Mexicans to settle in the state. World War II resulted in a watershed moment of Mexican settlement in Washington. The demand for agricultural labor in the state and the interment of Japanese Americans in areas such as the Yakima Valley created a labor crisis in the agricultural regions of Washington. The Bracero Program solved this problem by bringing contracted Mexican workers to Washington to work in the agricultural and railroad industries between 1942 and 1947.
Today, visitors traveling through the Yakima Valley, Pasco, Burien, or Mt. Vernon will notice a significant Mexican influence. In many places, Mexicans are becoming the foundation of communities that were previously Anglo American based.
CHARACTERIZING IMMIGRATION IN WASHINGTON
Population
Census data indicated a growth of Washington’s Mexican population between 2000 and 2008 of 61,000 individuals. In 2011, the total number of Hispanics of Mexican origin constituted 83% of the total Hispanic population in Washington. The Mexican immigrant population in Washington from 2009 to 2013 totaled 232,000. The top counties for immigrants were King (53,000), Yakima (40,500), Snohomish (19,200), and Pierce (16,900). In 2013 alone, there were 235,942 Mexican born individuals estimated to be in the state, suggesting a slight increase. The primary reason for the expansion is rooted in economic and labor development.
Labor
The majority of immigrants in Washington—who represent one in six workers (17 percent)—are from Mexico, the Philippines, Canada, Vietnam and Korea. Mexican immigrants, whether naturalized, legal, or undocumented, play a significant role in Washington’s economy. Mexicans contribute to the 14 percent of annual immigrant economic output. This large economic contribution is due to three main factors: eight out of every ten immigrants (80 percent) in Washington state are of prime working age, nearly half (46 percent) of immigrants in Washington state have white-collar jobs, and just over one in seven small businesses (15 percent) in Washington state is owned by an immigrant.
LINKS TO CULTURE