discrimination and oppression affected many groups of people, including Mexicans/Mexican Americans, Asians/Asian Americans, and Native Americans. These laws, however, did not affect African Americans, for "their citizenship and socialization in American society as 'native,' were exempt from both the Foreign Miners' Tax and The Greaser Act." Although they were exempt from these California laws because of their native status, they still faced "a multitude of egregious laws in their own right." Therefore, racial discrimination was additionally complicated by nativism and understandings of citizenship. The Greaser Act was in line with other forms of extra-legal violence imparted on minorities during this time period: "the law authorized local militias to keep the Mexican community at bay by terrorizing its members; allowed Anglos to confiscate Mexican property; and even allowed Anglos to lynch 'recalcitrant individuals' with impunity." As described by Guevara Urbina, "residents continued to face displacement from their land as European newcomers began to use violence, lynching, existing laws, or developed new laws, to seize lands previously held by Mexicans or other indigenous groups." Additionally, the law played a role in the racial formation of Mexicans "from a nationality to a race...through the dynamic interplay of myriad social forces...racialization of Mexicans does not occur in a vacuum, but in the context of dominant ideology, perceived economic interests, and psychological necessity." Changes to the Act The Greaser Act of 1855 would be later amended a year after its birth; however, the law was still used against US citizens of Mexican ancestry, Mexican nationals and other foreign groups. The amendment came in the form of eliminating the word "Greaser" from the text of the law, but it was still used against Mexicans. Though this changed over time, the discriminatory actions of the 1800s barred not only Mexicans and Mexican Americans, but also Native Americans and Asian Americans. Today, profiling laws bar "enforcement agencies from reliance on ethnicity, color, national origin, political affiliation, language, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disabilities or medical conditions as a reason to stop or search people." The Anti-Vagrancy Act exists in a broader history within California regarding immigration, nativism and race relations, both before and after repeal of the act. See also Emigration from Mexico Immigration to the United States Mexican Repatriation Operation Gatekeeper Operation Wetback References Sources California Statutes. Chapter 175 (1855), p. 217 Ronald Takaki. A Different Mirror (pp. 178, 457 fn. 32), Little Brown & Co. (1993)