Cross Border Build the Future

Case Studies

ESC Club students are conducting oral-history interviews with individuals and families whose lives connect the U.S.–Mexico border region. Each case study below shares one person’s story in their own words.

Li Family Story

-Conducted by ESC Club students Junpeng and Alex

Candy Story

–Conducted by ESC Club students Jonathan and Alex.

Mr. Liu Story

–Conducted by ESC Club student Anna(Lanting) Liang

Executive Summary

The ESC Club respectfully proposes the development of a community history exhibition entitled:

“Crossing Borders, Building Futures: The Story of Chinese Families in the Mexico–United States Border Region.”

This exhibition will document, preserve, and celebrate the experiences of Chinese immigrants and Chinese-Mexican families living in the dynamic border communities of San Diego, Tijuana, Tecate, Mexicali, and surrounding regions.

The project seeks to tell an often-overlooked story of migration, resilience, entrepreneurship, education, cultural identity, and community building. Through photographs, oral histories, family stories, artifacts, multimedia presentations, and youth participation, the exhibition will explore how Chinese families have established roots in Mexico while maintaining connections across borders and generations.

The exhibition will highlight both historical and contemporary experiences, including:

• Chinese migration to Mexico
• Chinese communities in Baja California
• Cross-border family life
• Business and entrepreneurship
• Educational opportunities and challenges
• Youth identity and cultural heritage
• Future aspirations of border-region families

More than a historical exhibit, this project seeks to create a living archive of community experiences and provide a platform for intergenerational dialogue, cultural understanding, and community engagement.

Historical Background: Chinese Immigration to the Mexico–U.S. Border Region

The story of Chinese families in the Mexico–United States border region spans more than a century of migration, adaptation, and community-building — a history that remains largely absent from mainstream accounts of both Mexican and American immigration.

-Early Migration (1880s–1930s)

Chinese immigration to Mexico grew significantly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as workers arrived to build railroads, work in agriculture, and establish small businesses. Baja California in particular drew large numbers of Chinese laborers recruited to develop the cotton fields of the Mexicali Valley, transforming the region into one of the most significant centers of Chinese settlement in Latin America. For many, Mexico also became a stopping point and, eventually, a home after the United States’ Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 sharply restricted direct immigration north of the border.

-Hardship and Resilience

Chinese communities in Mexico faced serious discrimination during this period, including anti-Chinese political campaigns and expulsion movements in several Mexican states during the 1930s. Despite these hardships, many families persisted, rebuilding businesses and community institutions, and forming close-knit neighborhoods — most visibly in Mexicali, which grew into what is often described as one of the largest Chinese communities in Mexico.

-Building Community in Baja California

Over subsequent generations, Chinese immigrants in the border region intermarried with Mexican families, opened restaurants and shops that became local institutions, and wove Chinese language, food, and traditions into the everyday cultural fabric of cities like Mexicali and Tijuana. This blending produced a distinct Chinese-Mexican identity — one shaped by two heritages held together at once, rather than a choice between them.

-Modern Cross-Border Connections

Today, descendants of these early immigrant families continue to move between Mexico and the United States for work, education, and family life, adding new chapters to a story that began generations ago. Many, like the individuals featured in this project’s case studies, grew up in Mexico, carry Chinese heritage through language and food, and now live and work across the San Diego–Baja California border — living examples of how migration, culture, and identity continue to cross borders together.