'Reconquering' the Southwest ; Mexico's Loss in 1840s War Shades Debate On Immigration

Summary

---

MEXICO CITY More than 1 million migrants flood into the United States each year across a border cutting straight through what once was Mexican territory, a touch of history that haunts the immigration debate 158 years after the land changed hands.

The territory north of today's 1,952-mile border half of Mexico at the time was ripped away in 1848 after a U.S. invasion that ended with the capture of "the halls of Montezuma," Mexico City itself.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

'Reconquering' the Southwest ; Mexico's Loss in 1840s War Shades Debate On Immigration

Ulysses S. Grant, who took part, called the invasion "the most unjust war ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."

The loss changed Mexico's destiny and still tears at the country's heart.

Primary school textbooks harp on it. Intellectuals o...

See the full content of this document

---