On the whole, it would seem that Jose's lack of acceptance is due to his own actions rather than society's oppressive attitudes. To be sure, such attitudes are there—white characters like Delaney use racial slurs against him and Mexican characters like Cándido and América call him a "half-gringo"—and they clearly don't do Jose any favors, but ultimately they're not responsible for how people see him.

Jose, by anyone's standards, is a pretty unpleasant character. People take one look at him and immediately take against him. There's just something menacing about him, something that automatically puts people off. While it's always difficult to entangle personal prejudice from such feelings, it would seem that Jose has made himself an outsider by his behavior.

Observe, for instance, the creepy way he insists on flirting with América even after she's told him that she's a married woman. His whole demeanor is menacing, suggestive of someone capable of doing considerable harm. Our initial impressions are more than confirmed when Jose goes on to rape América, a gratuitous act of evil which reveals his true character. And it's his character more than anything else which damns Jose in the eyes of both white people and Mexicans. Such repugnant characters are not accepted anywhere, regardless of their racial heritage.