There is a rapidly growing

Mexican-American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

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 () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, 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 American and Canadian English 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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'' was created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990. It provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawfu ...

'' 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 The Mexican drug war is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing Asymmetric warfare, asymmetric armed conflict between the Federal government of Mexico, Mexican government and various Drug cartel#Mexico, drug trafficking syndicates. When the ...

.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 in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

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

Demographics

As of the 2000 U.S. Census, 71% of the foreign-born residents of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

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, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

, 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, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, Irving ISD, Richardson ISD, 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. 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 major Interstate Highway in the southern states of Texas and Arkansas in the United States. I-30 travels 366.76 miles from Interstate 20, I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, and Texarkana, Texas ...

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

Economy

As of 2012 there were about 20 daily flights between

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas Fort Worth International 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 Airlines, which is headquartere ...

and Mexico. El Fenix, a

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words ''Texas'' and ''Mexico'') is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejanos, Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern ...

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 Pizza Patrón Inc. is an American pizza chain formerly headquartered in Dallas, now headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1986 by Antonio Swad and Bernadette Fiaschetti. In 2016, Swad sold Pizza Patrón to Charles Loflin, the new ...

, formerly 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 actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

(actress & singer) - Raised in

Grand Prairie Grand Prairie is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Dallas, Tarrant, and Ellis counties with a small part extending into Johnson county. It is part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It had a popul ...

, lived in Fort Worth *

Demi Lovato Demetria Devonne "Demi" Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series ...

(singer & actress) - Born in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

; raised in Dallas * Omar Gonzalez (soccer player) * Roberto Marroquin (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 Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econ ...

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

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

, 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 Mexicans () are the citizens and nationals of the Mexico, United Mexican States. The Mexican people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish language, Spanish, but many also speak languages from 68 different Languages o ...

Mexican Americans Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

Dallas–Fort Worth