American Latinas in World War II
[3] Herbert Hoover claimed that undocumented Latinos were a contributing factor for high unemployment rates during the Great Depression.
[4] In response to demands from organized labor, Secretary of Labor William Doaks reinvigorated the Immigration and Naturalization Service, advocating the use of random raids to apprehend undocumented persons and/or those unable to prove citizenship for repatriation outside the U.S.[4] Political rhetoric to otherize Latinos helped in the spread of stereotypes and contributed to discriminatory notions that Latinos were merely "part of the landscape, supporting actors in a drama that purported only to affect them, not to be affected by them.
"[5] This inaccurate characterization that Latino Americans were not active contributors in the World War I effort, and mainstream society in general, was not based on societal stereotypes.
Within their local communities, many women who had served in the armed forces or as nurses used their experiences as a springboard to jumpstart their educational or career goals.
Their military service frequently enabled them to bypass many of the previous cultural norms surrounding women's roles in and outside of the home.
[11] Re-acclimation to post-war life for Latinas was sometimes difficult in part due to government policies which specifically excluded female service members from the benefits given to their male counterparts.
Like many American women who served overseas, Latinas sometimes encountered underlying social tension and judgement as being "drinkers and smokers" or morally dubious by more conservative communities.
Women were not included in the Bracero Program, yet it still had a profound effect on Latinas who raised their family as a single caretaker back in Mexico.
In some cases, women in Mexico began taking more decision-making roles and participating more heavily in their family businesses while their husbands were away.
[12] Because it took a long time for funds from the Bracero Program to actually be sent back to Mexico, some Latinas chose undocumented migration into the U.S.[13] With the U.S. joining the war, the demand for labor increased significantly to support defense production, yet availability of male labor decreased as men volunteered for war.
Like other American women, Latinas started to fill the positions left behind by men, helping these factories produce parts for weapons, ships, or aircraft.
For some time after World War II, the garment industry would continue to relocate to lower-wage areas, seeking Latina women in need of work.
The women's participation in this, as feminizing the zoot suit to fit their needs, showcased the newfound mobility and agency gained from the War.
