The U.S. Census Bureau added "Mexican" as a racial category in 1930 for people born in Mexico or with Mexican-born parents who were "definitely not white, Negro, Indian, Chinese, or Japanese," but in 1936 the census director ordered that "Mexicans are Whites and must be classified as 'White.'"
Notes on verification
Well corroborated by multiple academic and archival sources documenting the 1930 census's short-lived 'Mexican' racial category and its reversal in 1936 policy directives. [tier=silver indep_score=0.812 clusters=4 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Racial Reorganization and the United States Census 1850-1930 (seed:relationships_and_lifestyle)
- https://www.gilderlehrman.org/veterans-legacy-program/wwii-veteran-research-guide/census/information-gathering/changes-1920-1950 (corroboration)
- https://www.nber.org/papers/w31623 (corroboration)
- https://muse.jhu.edu/book/19833 (corroboration)
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-history-review/article/abs/another-white-race-mexican-americans-and-the-paradox-of-whiteness-in-jury-selection/55A3C5A071CEA258A97F9B1B2053299D (corroboration)