Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for mass deportation of millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, as well as their American-born children, bears similarities to a large-scale removal that many Mexican-American families faced 85 years ago.

During the Great Depression, counties and cities in the American Southwest and Midwest forced Mexican immigrants and their families to leave the U.S. over concerns they were taking jobs away from whites, despite their legal right to stay.

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Greene County head football coach Darius Robinson, seen here celebrating with his team after a win in October, was relieved of coaching duties after his arrest, the Greene County School District said. (Lance McCurley/Lake Oconee News)

Credit: Lance McCurley/Lake Oconee News

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Students line up after school for school buses at Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The school’s principal told teachers not to talk to students about ICE, and teachers and activists are pushing back. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com