Fertile Matters: The Politics of Mexican-Origin Women's Reproduction

Seven. “Baby-Makers and Welfare Takers”: The (Not-So) New Politics of Mexican-Origin Women’s Reproduction

Chapter Seven “Baby-Makers and Welfare Takers” The (Not-So) New Politics of Mexican-Origin Women’s Reproduction Gobernar es poblar translates “to govern is to populate.” In this society where the majority rules, does this hold? Will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a collection that is simply more fertile? . . . Can homo contraceptivus compete with homo progenitiva if borders aren’t controlled? Or is advice to limit one’s family simply advice to move over and let someone else with greater reproductive powers occupy the space? . . . Perhaps this is the first instance in which those with their pants up are going to get caught by those with their pants down! O n October 9, 1988, the Arizona Republic published the above confidential memo intended only for participants in a private study group concerned with the demographic changes occurring in the United States. The study group, convened by John H. Tanton, previous president of Zero Population Growth (zpg) and founder of both the Federation of American Immigration Reform (fair) and U.S. English, included distinguished academics, politicians, and lobbyists.1 Having been a citizenactivist for over two decades, Tanton yearly assembled friends, contributors, and colleagues to discuss and develop strategies addressing what he considered to be the most pressing national matters of the day. Inspired by Population Change and California’s Future (1985), by Leon Bouvier and Philip Martin, Tanton dedicated that year’s annual meeting (and the memo highlighting the meeting’s talking points) to the “noneconomic consequences of immigration to California, and by extension, to the rest of the United States.”2 The lengthy WITAN memo outlined the T4292.indb 109 T4292.indb 109 7/27/07 7:22:54 AM 7/27/07 7:22:54 AM fertile matters 110 impact of immigration on areas such as politics, culture, religion, race and class relations, and conservation. Filled with racial anxiety and xenophobia reminiscent of the eugenic panic expressed at the turn of the century, the memo has since been called a “frank revival of race suicide theory.”3 In each section of the document, Tanton expressed his concern that the high fertility rate of Mexican immigrants threatened the assimilation of Mexicans in the United States and questioned the demographic impact of the migration. He was most worried about the cultural transformation that could occur across the nation as a result: Will Latin American migrants bring with them the tradition of mordida (bribery), the lack of involvement in public affairs, etc.? . . . How will we make the transition from a dominant non-Hispanic society with a Spanish influence to a dominant Spanish society with nonHispanic influence? Is apartheid in Southern California’s future? The demographic picture in South Africa now is startlingly similar to what we’ll see in California in 2030. . . . Will there be strength in this diversity? Or will this prove a social and political San Andreas Fault? As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?4 Tanton’s semiprivate musings with his close colleagues forebode a more public nativist activism that was to become amplified at the turn of the twenty-first century. Occurring particularly, but not exclusively, in California , this era has been widely referred to as the most significant contemporary mobilization of nativist expression in recent times. Driven by what Javier Inda has called “racialized nativism,” by the turn of the century, the hyper-fertile Mexican immigrant woman once again gained infamy as a social problem necessitating public action and governmental intervention.5 Set within a context of increasing government concern, during the 1990s the emergence of a formal structure around the study and containment of the fertility of Mexican-origin women was at hand. During this period, there were several notable developments in public opinion and governmental action directed at the reproductive patterns of Mexican immigrants. 1. Attention to the fertility of women of Mexican origin increased in the news media and public debate. Once a fact significant only to demographic specialists and some in the population and immigration control movements, the reproductive behaviors of Mexican-origin women was now a matter of general public interest. Among nativists, T4292.indb 110 T4292.indb 110 7/27/07 7:22:55 AM 7/27/07 7:22:55 AM the (not-so) new politics 111 the fertility of Mexican immigrant women...