Reparations Bills Pass in Calif. Senate
NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, May 27, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The state Senate voted to formally apologize for the deportation of thousands of Mexican-Americans under a Depression-era program designed to create jobs for citizens.
Senators passed the measure 27-5 Thursday and sent it to the state Assembly for consideration.
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About 2 million Hispanics, including 400,000 Californians, were sent to Mexico between 1929 and 1944 under the Hoover administration program, which was designed to free up jobs for U.S. citizens, said state Sen. Joe Dunn, the bill's author.
However, the practice targeted anyone with a Mexican-sounding name and most of those deported were U.S. citizens or legal immigrants, he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a separate bill, also sponsored by Dunn, to create a fund to pay reparations to surviving deportees who file claims. However, separate legislation would be needed to put money in the account.
© 2005 The Associated Press
