Criminalización y políticas migratorias: Cambios en el proceso de estratificación racial y estigmatización de la población de origen mexicano radicada en los Estados Unidos (1954-2001)

This article aims to analyze from a historical perspective the changes in the process of racial stratification and stigmatization of the population of Mexican origin based in the United States. From a bibliographic and documentary exploration of changes in U.S. migration policies with respect to its southern border during the second half of the 20th century, three distinct historical periods were identified (1954-1964, 1965-1985 and 1986-2001). The social changes presented in these historical periods allowed this population to consolidate as one of the country’s main ethnic minorities, but this failed to eliminate the racial stigmatization imposed on Mexican (and later Hispanic) migrants by the dominant white culture since the second half of the 19th century. This has been reflected consistently in the current policies that U.S. immigration authorities have implemented on the border with Mexico.