"At the beginning of the 1980s, Mexico’s economy was teetering, shaken by the nation's worst recession since the 1930s. In 1982, the peso was devalued repeatedly during the country’s economic crisis. High unemployment pushed more migrants to find work in the United States."
(http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico704/history/timeline.html). The big economic crisis in Mexico influenced my dad's life because of that he immigrated to the US. The reason he immigrated to the US was because of the corruption going on in Mexico, caused by the economic crisis. He also immigrated to the US for a better life, because with all the poverty and things going on in Mexico, he didn't see a great future if he stayed there.
"When Miguel De La Madrid Hurtado assumed the presidency in 1982, Mexico's economy was on the verge of collapse. The government imposed vast austerity measures and in 1985 signed with foreign creditors the first stage of a 14 year debt restructuring plan. In September 1985, the Mexican economy suffered an additional setback when earthquakes severely damaged the capital, killing and injuring thousands." (http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2-mexican-history-a-brief-summary) During the time my dad immigrated to the US the president of Mexico was Miguel De La Madrid Hurtado and when he became the president in 1982, the economy in Mexico was pretty bad, like I said before. There were also erathquakes going on in 1985 that killed many. All this things forced people, like my dad, to immigrate to the US.
"In 1986, Congress passed more legislation with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, aimed at stemming the flow of illegal immigration by cracking down on U.S. employers who hire illegal immigrants. The act also granted an amnesty to illegal workers already in the United States, giving more than 2.7 million people legal status." This is how my dad was able to become legal in the US. He was very lucky to have immigrated to the US in the early 1980's and not after because then he wouldn't have been able to become legal. This influenced his life because he was able to freely create a life in the US without having a fear of being deported for being illegal.
Ronald Reagan was the US president from 1981-1989, so basically the 1980's. "...Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit...Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp." (http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan)
2. How might the people in your story have acted differently if they had more information about their setting? What information would have changed their personal history?
Well, if there hadn't been an economic crisis during the 1980's then my dad would have probably not immigrated to the US. He would have tried to make a good life in Mexico instead of having to go through the effort of being able to cross the border. If there hadn't been an economic crisis in Mexico, and he hadn't immigrated to the US in the 1980's then his whole personal history after that would have changed. First of all, he wouldn't have moved to San Francisco, which would mean he wouldn't have met my mom, and I wouldn't be here right now. Second of all, he wouldn't have become legal to the US and therefore probably wouldn't have stayed in the US for a long time. It was necessary for him to immigrate to the US in the early 1980's because of he had done it after than he would have probably not become legal and wouldn't have met my mom.
Using different sources that you found...
4. Post at least two pieces of media (or multimedia) that the people in your story would have seen, heard, or otherwise been aware of. How would they have interpetted the material?
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/05/us/facts-on-amnesty-plan-for-illegal-aliens-in-us.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm - This is a New York Times newspaper article published in May 5th, 1987 telling the immigrants that on "Tuesday" they could apply for legal status. It is most likely that my parents read this newspaper because it gave them facts on the amnesty plan for immigrants in the US. It tells them if they qualify or not and what you need to apply. So it was probably very helpful for them and maybe that is how they found out about the amnesty plan.
http://www.stoykovich.com/amnesty2.jpg- These were probably some of the posters my parents would see in the streets, when immigrants were asking for an amnesty.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZBJ_2kH40um3YVQXrqkKYzpuUeiagGV6uXNROzC5tMcelMvhuDhuSENhUNY1I4pxhzoukWifDPliDhzCwYp_yEafhw1wWYPCHtOAOU8ziqgDWAclTDllkuq7xCFh3_ZeL6xiwd4gG8x23/s1600/Ronald-Reagan1.jpeg - My parents probably saw this image everywhere, which is Ronald Reagan signing the Immigration Reform. This really helped my parents because that is why they were able to become legal.
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