הסכם גואדלופה הידאלגו 1848 - בחירת לאום (עוגן היסטורי יסודי)

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on 1848-02-02 at the Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo (now a neighborhood of Mexico City), ended the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and transferred approximately 55% of Mexico's pre-war territory to the United States: Alta California, Nuevo México, Texas (the Rio Bravo del Norte boundary), Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The companion Tratado de La Mesilla (Gadsden Purchase), signed 1853-12-30, added the current southern Arizona and New Mexico strips.

Article VIII of the treaty is the operative nationality-choice provision: Mexican citizens then present in the ceded territories had a one-year election window (running from ratification exchange on 1848-05-30 to 1849-05-30) to declare their intention to retain Mexican citizenship and relocate to Mexican territory. Those who did not make such a declaration within the year were deemed to have elected US citizenship by default. The Senate of the United States amended Article IX (concerning eventual admission to full US citizenship rights for Mexican residents) during ratification, introducing an element of Congressional discretion rather than automatic rights.

The treaty is documented as a historical anchor (W2 operative period) rather than a live-access route because:

1. The election window closed in 1849-05-30 — no new nationality choices can be made under its provisions
2. All persons who would have been affected are deceased
3. Subsequent US laws (Indian Citizenship Act 1924, various legislative acts) resolved the citizenship status of remaining Mexican-origin populations in the ceded territories

However, the treaty's reflects its persistent legal and political significance: it is the foundational legal event creating the Mexican-American diaspora corridor (~37 million people as of 2020-2021 Census/ACS data), it is the reference point for the CPEUM Art 30 post-2021 multi-generational jus sanguinis expansion (MX-DSC-03), and it continues to generate legal arguments in US federal courts regarding land grants and community property rights in the former Mexican territories.

Not applicable as a live route — the election window closed 1849-05-30.

Filing authorities: MX Cancillería (historic); US National Archives. MX procedure (BIL): SRE-DGAJ + RENAPO + Registro Civil estatal operational; CPEUM Art 30/32/37 + Ley de Nacionalidad 1998 (última reforma DOF 2012-04-23) + Reglamento DOF 2009-06-17 framework; CURP Biométrica reform DOF 2025-07-16.

• Primary treaty: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Article VIII (nationality election) + Article IX (amended by US Senate — discretionary admission) + Article X (deleted entirely by US Senate — land grant protections removed)
• Signature: 1848-02-02, Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo
• US ratification: 1848-05-25 (Senate); amendments accepted by Mexico 1848-05-25; ratifications exchanged 1848-05-30
• Companion treaty: Tratado de La Mesilla (Gadsden Purchase) 1853-12-30 — added southern Arizona + southern New Mexico; ratified 1854-04-25
• Operative period: 1848-02-02 → 1849-05-30 (election window closed); treaty itself remains as historical law anchor
• Temporal window: W2 (pre-1917 constitutional era)

Primary statute: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Article VIII (signed 1848-02-02 Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo) — 1-year nationality election period from ratification exchange 1848-05-30 to 1849-05-30 (default US citizenship for non-declarers); Article IX (US Senate modified) discretionary Congressional admission. Operative period: 1848-02-02 → 1849-05-30 (election window closed; treaty itself remains historical anchor). Mexican citizenship legal framework: Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos (CPEUM) Art 30, 32, 37 primary constitutional framework — Art 30 nationality acquisition (Apartado A jus soli + Apartado B jus sanguinis); Art 32 dual-citizenship + Mexican-by-naturalization restrictions; Art 37 ciudadanía + nacionalidad loss framework. Constitutional anchor: CPEUM is the longest-continuous-single-text constitution globally (since 1917-02-05); Apartado A fracción I textually preserved across reforms 1934/1969/1974/1997/2021. Implementing statute: Ley de Nacionalidad 1998 (DOF 1998-01-23; última reforma DOF 2012-04-23). Implementing regulation: Reglamento de la Ley de Nacionalidad DOF 2009-06-17 (Calderón sexenio — NOT 2014). Key recent reforms: Art 30 multi-generational jus sanguinis reform DOF 2021-05-17 (Sheinbaum-era); Indigenous Originario framework DOF 2024-09-30 reforming Art 2 + 27 + 73 (CPEUM); Oaxaca Usos y Costumbres 417-418 SNI framework. Treaty anchors: ILO 169 (Mexico 2nd globally ratifier, 1990-09-05 after Norway 1990-06-19); 1933 Montevideo denuncia trifecta (1997-2000 — Inter-American Citizenship Treaties withdrawal); ICJ Avena 2004 (Mexico v USA — consular notification); Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848 (territorial cession + nationality transition framework). NOT party to 1961 Stateless Convention. Apex: Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación (SCJN) — Pleno + Primera Sala + Segunda Sala. Indigenous parallel framework distinct.