When Basilio Ramos and his co-conspirators issued the Plan of San Diego in January 1915, they ordered a race war to seize Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Colorado and establish a republic that would later rejoin Mexico. Their manifesto specifically directed the execution of every Anglo male over 16 and mandated the formation of a “Liberating Army of Races and Peoples.” Armed Mexican and Tejano raiders immediately began striking irrigation works, railroads, and ranches across the lower Rio Grande, continuing their campaign until Texas Rangers and U.S. forces finally crushed the uprising in 1916. Today, a contemporary, low-key nationalism in these same former Mexican territories revives that historic territorial claim — relying on demography, dual loyalty, and an open rejection of federal authority rather than overt warfare.
American Community Survey and Migration Policy Institute data document this modern demographic shift, estimating that approximately 40 million people of Mexican origin live within U.S. sovereignty today. California and Texas alone hold the large majority of both Mexican immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants. This concentration has sustained deep cultural ties; Pew Research Center surveys have recorded that 52% of Mexican-origin adults identified first as “Mexican” or “Mexicano,” while 32% of even third-generation respondents retained that primary self-description. Capitalizing on this permanent base, Mexico’s government has rapidly accelerated dual-nationality registrations. U.S. consulates processed 126,060 cases in 2025 alone — a staggering 153% jump from the previous year. By formalizing these ties, Mexico successfully retains the institutional allegiance of millions living within American borders — effectively leveraging historical and geographical proximity to project its own sovereign influence deep into the U.S. electorate.
