There is a rapidly growing

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. people of Mexican origins made up 80% of the Hispanics and Latinos in the DFW area. - Spanish version
Necesidad económica incita la creciente inmigración mexicana al área de Dallas

History

Sol Villasana, the author of ''Dallas's Little Mexico'', wrote that "Mexicans have been part of Dallas since its beginning."Villasana, p
7
In the 1870s the first significant groups of Mexicans came to Dallas as railroad lines were constructed. Additional Mexicans settled Dallas as a result of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...

, which began in 1910. According to the 1920 U.S. Census, 3,378 Mexicans lived in Dallas.Brettell, p
56
In the early 20th century, wealthier Mexicans lived in Little Mexico and in the historical red-light area of Dallas north of

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

, while less wealthy immigrants lived along railroad yards. Caroline B. Brettell, author of '"Big D" Incorporating New Immigrants in a Sunbelt Suburban Metropolis,' wrote that as of 1920 the majority of Dallas's Mexicans "were living in atrocious conditions." After World War II Little Mexico began to disintegrate.Villasana, p
8
The Murder of Santos Rodriguez occurred in 1973. In 2009 the City of Dallas began pursuing an ''

EB-5 The United States EB-5 visa, ''employment-based fifth preference category'' or ''EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program'', created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990, provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawful permane ...

'' investment program, attracting wealthier Mexicans. By 2012 there was a wave of wealthy Mexican immigration, due to the program, the proximity and access of Mexico to North Texas, and the violence of the Mexican drug war.Corchado, Alfredo.
High-end migrants from Mexico lead new wave to Dallas area

Archive
. ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galveston ...

''. November 24, 2012. Updated November 25, 2012. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.

Demographics

As of the

2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, 71% of the foreign-born residents of

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

originated in Mexico, as were 64% of the foreign-born residents of

McKinney McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau li ...

, and 22% of the foreign-born residents of Plano.Brettell, p
61
25% Of Foreign Born residents of Carrollton

Education

Rapid growth of the Hispanic community in the last decade has now made them majority in a fair share of school districts in the DFW area. These school districts include:

Dallas ISD The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the ...

, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, Irving ISD,

Richardson ISD Richardson Independent School District (RISD) is a school district based in Richardson, Texas (USA). RISD covers and serves the city of Richardson and portions of the cities of Dallas and Garland (60 percent of RISD is in North Dallas, with 35 ...

, Mesquite ISD, Garland ISD, Grand Prairie ISD, and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD.

Geography

As of the 2000 U.S. Census, 63% of the ethnic Mexicans in Dallas County resided in the Dallas city limits. Many Mexicans in Dallas live in lower income housing, especially in

South Dallas South Dallas is an area in Dallas, Texas. It is south of Downtown Dallas, bordered by Trinity River on the west, Interstate 30 on the north, and the Great Trinity Forest to the south and east. In recent years the City of Dallas and organizations ...

. the Mexican population lived in various parts of the DFW area, with concentrations in West Dallas, Oak Cliff, and Arlington. As of 2000 there was a large group of ethnic Mexicans living north of Arlington in an area south of

Interstate 30 Interstate 30 (I-30) is a Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas, to I-40 in North Little Rock, Ark ...

, and a smaller group in the cities between Dallas and Fort Worth south of U.S. Highway 183.

Economy

As of 2012 there are about 20 daily flights between

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...

and Mexico. El Fenix, a

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

restaurant chain, was established by Mike Martinez, a Mexican American. It was established on September 15, 1918. Christina Rosales of ''

'' wrote that it "has been credited with starting the Tex-Mex craze in the U.S." Pizza Patrón, headquartered in Dallas, markets itself to Mexican American families. It was established by Antonio Swad, a person not of Mexican origins.

Notable residents

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

(actress & singer) - Raised in

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties of Texas, in the United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a population of 175,396 according to the 2010 census, making it th ...

, lived in Fort Worth *

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series '' Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for p ...

(singer & actress) - Born in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

; raised in Dallas * Omar Gonzalez (soccer player) * Roberto Marroquin (boxer) * Fernando Rodríguez (boxer) * Santos Rodriguez (murder victim)

References

* Brettell, Caroline B. '"Big D" Incorporating New Immigrants in a Sunbelt Suburban Metropolis' (Chapter 3). In: Singer, Audrey, Susan Wiley Hardwick, and Caroline Brettell. ''Twenty-First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America'' (James A. Johnson metro series).

Brookings Institution Press The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row (Washington DC), Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the s ...

, 2009. . Start p
53
* Villasana, Sol. ''Dallas's Little Mexico'' (Images of America).

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American publisher of neighborhood, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs the History Press, which publi ...

, 2011. .

Notes

External links

Dallas Mexican American Historical League
(DMAHL)
Dallas Hispanic Bar Association
(DHBA) {{DEFAULTSORT:History of Mexican Americans in Dallas-Fort Worth Mexicans History of Dallas History of Fort Worth, Texas Mexican-American history