San Patricio and the Fight for Immigrant Rights

San Patricio and the Fight for Immigrant Rights

By Yesenia Razo and Peter Schurmann Nearly two centuries ago, a band of Irish emigres defected from the US military to join sides with Mexico in the Mexican American War. The San Patricios, or St. Patrick’s Battalion, have since become part of Mexican lore. Rejecting the racism, religious intolerance and imperialism they found in the US, the San Patricios story remains a powerful indictment of US policy then and now. “When we think about the cyc…