For the first time since the Great Depression, more people are leaving than arriving. That’s not good news for the economy.
Angela* wouldn’t be here today if her great-uncle had boarded the train.
In the summer of 1932, as the sun dipped below Chicago’s La Colonia del Harbor skyline, Mexican‑American families packed into boxcars. Mothers clutched ration cards, fathers abandoned their day’s wage at the local meatpacking plant, and bewildered children in worn shoes shuffled behind them. They stood on the platform as family and friends waved goodbye. Tears streamed down terrified faces. No one knew if they could ever return.
Angela’s great-grandparents purchased train tickets for themselves and their children. Pushed out by harassment, discrimination, and joblessness, the family planned to “voluntarily repatriate” or “self-deport” back to Mexico.
Angela’s great-uncle, Magdaleno (Mag), had other ideas.
On the day the train was expected to depart, the defiant twelve-year-old took off. Born in the US, Mag didn’t want to move to Mexico and leave the only home he had ever known. So, the family missed the train, and Angela’s great-grandfather decided…