As the Minuteman Project vigilantes patrol the Arizona/Mexico border this month to keep undocumented Mexicans from crossing the line, I get flashbacks.
Some 180 years ago Stephen F. Austin and his army of colonists streamed into Texas from Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. One of its leaders, David Crockett, who had contributed to crafting the vision of Manifest Destiny while serving as a member of Congress, helped enact it by flooding Texas with undocumented white settlers. Crockett knew perfectly well what Washington had in mind in terms of westward expansion.
It's true that Austin's father had received permission from the Spanish crown to bring 300 families to settle in Texas, but Mexico had just become independent of Spain and the new Mexican government balked at honoring the arrangement.
Additionally, the number who followed Austin there greatly exceeded 300, becoming undocumented migrants who had no more right to be there than do the modern Mexican migrants coming to Arizona.
Almost all came heavily armed. They were itching for a confrontation with the central government of Mexico, a fact that Austin probably neglected to report to officials in Mexico City.
Mexico President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna reacted with excessive force. He reasoned that the U.S. settlers, left to their own devices, would overtake the Hispanics who then lived in Texas and eventually seek alliance with the United States. The Mexican charter issued to the Austins required that the new immigrants become Mexican citizens — an important difference between then and now, but one that the outlaw immigrants did not embrace.
Since the basic outline of Manifest Destiny was no secret to the Mexicans by this time, Santa Anna's fears were not unfounded, especially once he discovered that the new immigrants came with cannons, Bowie knives, muskets and a snarling, fighting attitude toward Mexico.
An important difference between then and now is that Mexican immigrants do not cross the Sonora Desert bearing weapons, and they do not intend to rebel against the United States. They come to work.
In fact, once they become citizens, many become Republicans, a fact that has not escaped George W. Bush and his advisers. Without the president's sensitivity, things could be worse.
There are differences and similarities in these two movements separated by nearly two centuries. Many resident Tejanos (a k a Mexicans) welcomed the 19th century arrivals and helped them settle in. They recognized the value of partnering to colonize the area. (But as soon as the unpleasantness of the Alamo and San Jacinto ended, the settlers from the East began to turn against their Spanish-speaking neighbors.)
There is no evidence that Tejanos were hostile to their new neighbors, their language or their culture.
This context is far different from what is happening in Arizona today, where Spanish has been outlawed in the schools and where public officials can be punished for speaking Spanish to the people they serve.
The Minutemen in Arizona have chosen to ignore the fact that Mexican immigrants, legal or otherwise, also contribute to the development and prosperity of the cities and states where they come in search of work.
The fact that the Minutemen strap on six-shooters when they patrol the border suggests that they expect a firefight from the migrants. Further, there is no evidence to suggest that Mexican immigrants today are any less hard-working than their counterparts in the early 1800s. Nor is there evidence that they take away jobs from the Minutemen or anyone else. Neither do they steal social services for which U.S. citizenship or legal residency is a requirement. Studies show quite the opposite.
Documented or otherwise, Mexican immigrants pay the same taxes to states and the federal government as do the rest of us. They cannot escape sales taxes. The same applies to payroll deductions for income taxes and Social Security.
The Minutemen and their supporters seem to have forgotten their history. Many of them would not be in the Southwest today if their own ancestors had not crossed the border into Texas illegally.
So had there been Hombres Minuto in Texas at the time, what would their function have been? Probably as precursors to the Welcome Wagon ladies of today. "Bienvenidos, amigos, please feel welcome here. May we all prosper and work together as neighbors."
As a third generation U.S.-born Tejano, I can't help but wonder: Did my ancestors make a mistake back then by being so darn welcoming?
Josui M. Gonzalez is professor of education at Arizona State University in Tempe. He may be contacted by e-mail at Josue@asu.edu. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.