812.504/1381
The Chargé in Mexico (Lane) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 5.]
Sir: Referring to the Department’s instruction number 961 of March 22, 1933,57 I have the honor to state that yesterday I saw the Minister for Foreign Affairs and in the course of the conversation I brought up the matter of the deportation of Chinese from Mexico to the United States. I said that during my recent visit to Washington several officials of the Department of State had discussed this matter with me, pointing out the possibility of an investigation being instigated by Congress as to the reasons for our having had to defray the expenses of deporting Chinese to China who had been expelled from Mexico into the United States without the consent of the United States. I said that I felt sure the Minister would appreciate the embarrassing and serious nature of the situation which might arise if such a matter were aired in the press, and that I sincerely trusted that he would do [Page 842] everything in his power to prevent further deportations of Chinese to the United States from taking place.
Doctor Puig said that he fully appreciated our point of view, and that our complaints regarding the matter were entirely justified. He said that he had had several conversations with Senator Batiz, who he said is the head of the anti-Chinese committee (see my despatch number 2342 of March 3, 1933),58 and that he thought Senator Bátiz has now assumed a more reasonable attitude. He said that so far as he knew the persecution of the Chinese in Sonora had abated. He added that while there had been some anti-Chinese feeling in Sinaloa, the situation had not been so serious in that State.
Doctor Puig told me that notwithstanding the reports which he had of the improvement in the situation, he would take the matter up again with the President at the next presidential acuerdo, with a view to seeing what might be done.
I propose to discuss this matter with the Chinese Minister at the first opportunity.
Respectfully yours,