A Brief History of the Bracero Program and What We Have Learned From It
The Bracero Program signifies the second largest wave of Mexican immigrants arriving to the United States, yet I feel like many of my peers still do not know much about it. With the powerful rhetoric against immigration taking center stage during this election season, the public needs a history lesson to help hear something else other than the white noise that some are producing. Despite being a controversial topic, the Bracero Program is a part of our history and has had an effect on our population, as well as future rights and migration patterns of workers today.
Throughout its history, the United States has dabbled in temporary worker programs, the first monumental one being the Bracero Program. Established by a need for agricultural workers during World War II, Mexico agreed on sending willing workers to their Northern neighbors on contract, California and Texas being the most popular destinations. The agreement lasted from 1942–1964 and despite its purpose being to alleviate agriculture work during the war, the program expanded in the 50s and lasted much past the war. The program supposedly withheld 10% of their earnings to send to the Mexican government so that they could give it back to the workers upon their return.
So what made this program so controversial? The Bracero Program has been characterized by the several ways it failed the workers, including the fact that the 10% that was to be returned to them was usually not so. Yes, the number of farming jobs increased rapidly, but at the same speed, farm wages were plummeting. Upset unions, churches, and other groups helped end this program in 1964, because of the substandard living conditions that the men had and the racism that they were subject to. This subsequently forced thousands of workers to go back home while repatriating those who tried to stay after their contract was over.
Above all though, the Bracero Program made a lasting relationship that has continued today between the Mexican people and the United States labor market. Taking away the “legality” of the program did not stop migration patterns of Mexican people, like my grandfather who decided to come back after working as a bracero in Texas. Being “illegal” just gave them a new set of rules to adapt to. In fact, as we see with more Central Americans migrating over than Mexicans, it can be said that the program inspired many more than just Mexican nationals to come here and work — despite the difficult conditions that all immigrants experience when they arrive to the United States.
At the time, some proponents of the Bracero Program argued that having a legal worker program like this would protect us from “illegal wetbacks” as they were once often referred to. Once this program ended, some wondered when we would bring a durable legal worker program back. Our options now — the H-2 Program — do not offer a path to citizenship for all of the workers it employs. Without migrant workers, our economy would suffer greatly, in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors alike. Let us continue to progress our current programs and legislate smartly when deciding how best to go about immigration reform, because it seems as though some of our leading political leaders have forgotten to do so.
