Final answer:
After the U.S. acquisition of California and New Mexico, Mexicans experienced a loss of land and sovereignty due to the U.S. government declaring existing land deeds 'imperfect'. Racially discriminatory laws also targeted the Mexican population, adding to their loss of status and economic hardship.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Loss of land and sovereignty. Following America's payment for California and New Mexico, Mexicans experienced a significant loss of lands valued over $10,000 and sovereignty over these territories. Racial tensions exacerbated the situation as the United States government declared the Mexican and Spanish land deeds 'imperfect', leading to the dispossession of land from Mexicans and Mexican-Americans such as tejanos and californios. By the 1880s, many of these original landowners found themselves without land or with greatly diminished holdings.
Laws like California's Greaser Act of 1885 disproportionately affected Mexicans and Mexican-Americans by targeting them under the guise of an antivagrancy law, further alienating them from the dominant society. Additionally, they often faced employment as laborers, sometimes on their former properties, being paid considerably less than white laborers.