The Link Voices documentary Harvest of Empire explores the history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and how it has led to the immigration issues facing the U.S. today. By using foreign lands and labor to expand American business, financing the overthrow of democratically elected leaders, or training the leaders of oppressive military leaders, the U.S. has contributed to the poverty and civil unrest that has fostered conflict and violence abroad. The film also shows how the U.S. has alternated between eras of mass deportation and eras of mass recruitment of immigrant labor, and different ways Latinos have helped shape the nation.
Harvest of Empire (Promo)
Below, find a timeline of major events that have impacted the Latino presence in the U.S. 1848 - Annexation of Mexican Northern Territories, congress takes least populated areas, so as not to be too contaminated by Mexican culture in major population centers.
1898 - Spanish American War: Spain relinqueshes Puerto Rico, Guam, Phillippines to U.S. Puerto Rico remained under U.S. rule, used as resource for North American sugar companies.
1916 - U.S. Army trains Domincan National Guard leader Rafael Le nidas Trujillo, who brutally ruled the Dominican Republic for 30 years, making it easy for American companies to do business in the country.
1917 - U.S. imposes citizenship on Puerto Rico, change the official language to English, and drafte Puerto Ricans to World War I.
1930s - During the Great Depression, President Herbert Hoover begins mass deportation program; of up to 1 million Mexicans deported, 60% are legal citizens.
1942 - Bracero program is established in the United States. Mexican migrants to create a steady labor force needed during WWII.
Why Braceros?
1939-1945 - 350,000 Mexican-Americans serve in the World War II.
1946- American factories aggresively recruit Puerto Ricans during the post-war era.
1954 - C.I.A. overthrows democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo rbenz government, installing U.S.-backed military dictator Carlos Castillo Armas, leading to civil war from the 1960s-1980s; C.I.A.s radicalization of rbenz set the bar for U.S. to use local proxies to oust communist governments.
Rigoberta Mench Tum and Ambassador Robert White on U.S. policy and genocide in Harvest of Empire
1952 - U.S. supports Fulgencio Batistas dicatorship in Cuba due to the regimes support of the penetration of the Cuban market by American companies.
1956 - Fidel Castro overthrows Fulgencio Batista during the Cuban Revolution.
1961 - Bay of Pigs: Castro army defeats U.S.-led assault by 1,400 Cuban exiles trained and equipped by the C.I.A.; 216,000 Cubans flee as refugees to U.S.
1963 - Juan Bosch becomes democratically elected president of the Dominican Republic, following Rafaels Trujillos assasination in 1961. He is overthrown after seven months in office, replaced with a military junta.
1965 - An armed uprising against the military junta leads to U.S. invasion of Dominican Republic. The enormous oppression of Bosch supporters leads to 1,000 Dominicans migrating to U.S.
1978 - Journalist and national Nicaraguan hero Pedro Joaquin Chamorro killed by the Somoza family, a U.S. backed-political dynasty in Nicaragua that ruled from 1936-1976. Chamorro strongly opposed the Samonza regime.
1979- Sandinista National Liberation Front ousts Somoza regime in Nicaragua.
1980 - 10,000 Cubans storm Peruvian embassy seeking exile, then become part of flotila that brings 125,000 Cubans to Miami in 5 months, causing social upheaval in Miami
1980 - Salvadorian Bishop Oskar Romero and 4 female missionaries killed by Salvadorian army. The army was trained at the School of Americas in the U.S. As war escalates, tens of thousands flee to US.
The People Dont Emigrate, They Flee - U.S. Ambassador Robert White in Harvest of Empire
The Slaughter of the Innocents - Father Roy Bourgeois in Harvest of Empire
1985-1987 - Iran Contra: U.S. sells weapon to Iran, and profits go to fund to the Contras rebel group fighting the Sandanistas in Nicaragua.
Former CIA Division Chief reveals how U.S. policy causes immigration
1985- Election of Miamis first Cuban mayor.
1986 - International Court finds U.S. violated international law by funding the Contras and mining Nicaraguas harbors.
1986 - Reagan signs Immigration Law and Control Act, which starts largest legalization of undocumented immigrants in history, with almost 3 million legalized.
Ronald Reagans Immigration Policy Promise
1994 - Operation Gate Keeper, a measure aimed at halting illegal immigration in the US-Mexico border, launches.
1993/94 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signed by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. Corn imports from the U.S. drive down farmers prices in Mexico, leading to millions migrating to the U.S. looking for work.
1997 - Congress extends legal residency to Nicaraguan refugees.
2006 - Millions join immigration protests across major cities in the U.S., seeking comprehensive reform of the countrys immigration laws.
By 2050, the Latino population is projected to grow to 130 million. Read an interview with Harvest of Empires Juan Gonzalez here.
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The Link Voices documentary Harvest of Empire explores the history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and how it has led to the immigration issues facing the U.S. today. By using foreign lands and labor to expand American business, financing the overthrow of democratically elected leaders, or training the leaders of oppressive military leaders, the U.S. has contributed to the poverty and civil unrest that has fostered conflict and violence abroad. The film also shows how the U.S. has alternated between eras of mass deportation and eras of mass recruitment of immigrant labor, and different ways Latinos have helped shape the nation.
