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{{Mediawiki[[File:kindleoasis}}Immigration has been a politicalMexicaliBraceros, social, and economic hot button issue 1954.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Mexican workers in Mexicali waiting for legal work in almost every decade since the U.S. became it’s own country. Whether they are Italian, Irish, Asian, or Middle Eastern, immigrants have made US]]__NOTOC__What was the bracero program? It was an immigration program created through a series of bilateral agreements between the United States their home and have introduced new and influential cultures to the countryMexico in 1942. Unfortunately for migrants, there are usually enormous issues facing them from their initial decision to migrate The program was designed to alleviate farm labor shortages in the U.S. United States caused by American entry into World War II and even years after they arrivehelp Mexican farm laborers get work. Within Essentially, the past centuryUnited States agreed to allow Mexican farm laborers, "Braceros" in Spanish, Mexican migrants have seen some of the worst treatment and political hostility when it comes to migrant worker and immigrant history. Although there is no comparison come to other groups of individuals immigrating the US to augment the U.SUS farm labor force.Debates about immigration policy, Mexican migrant including recent discussions about how documented and undocumented workers have an interesting history because of the U.S. – Mexico border and the political and economic policies and programs that Mexico and the U.S. have created within fit into the last century. One program in particular is the focus of this articleAmerican labor system, the Bracero Program. It’s significance to the current issues surrounding immigration are paramount and will continue to provide an example reminders of the violent and discriminatory cycle that Mexican citizens go through as migrant laborers in United States’ biggest experiment with guest workers: the U.Sbracero program.

==Problems In Mexico PreMexican agricultural workers were brought to U.S. farms to replace American workers dislocated by the war. The program was intended as a temporary wartime solution, but American farms’ growing dependence on Mexican labor kept the program active for two decades beyond the war’s end. Over the life of the program, between 1942 and 1964, nearly 5 million Mexican men came to the United States on temporary, short-Bracero Program==term agricultural contracts. The bracero program is historically controversial, prompting scholars to debate whether it was an opportunity for migrant workers or exploitation of Mexican labor. It continues to shape discussions of modern trade agreements and will color ideas about how, and whether, to process and utilize migrant labor.

There are a slough ====Roots of factors that lead to the creation of this Bracero Program====The bracero program, but in order to fully understand it’s impact, it is important to layout would not have been as easily implemented or as popular without the transnational creation of large migrant working population in economic and cultural relationship established between Mexico. The factors that are most important begin with the Mexican Revolution and the leadership of Profirio Diaz who opened up Mexico’s economy to United States since the U.S. late nineteenth century and other countries who began building factories and railroads to the U.S. creating the passageways for future migrants to travel if Mexican citizens could have made a living in to the U.SMexico. The Mexican government and companies based in the U.S. would buy land and eventually most of economy had been uprooted by the land owned by farmers and working poor would be swallowed up. Without this land Mexican citizens who used to farm had no other means to provide for their families. With new ‘’maquiladoras’’ or factories Revolution (mainly cotton factories1910–1920) being built, many Mexicans would flood ; President Porfirio Diaz had opened Mexico’s economy to those and begin to internally migrate towards the railroads and factories.<ref> Deborah Cohen, ‘’Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects in the Postwar United States and Mexico’’, (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011), 35-37.</ref> In 1910, many of in the workers employed by the cotton ‘’maquiladoras’’ and Communist Party members would join the ranks of Pancho Villa as the Mexican Revolution begins. These workers would continue early 1920s; railroad building across Mexico had created passageways to fight for workers rights and better wages within from the ‘’maquiladoras’’ over the next three decades but without any real land ownership north, and the poor economic environment that lingered after Diaz’s reign, Mexican working and poor and the government it helped come to power, had no real choice but to head to the U.S. and it’s economic policies. <ref>Deborah Cohen, ‘’Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects companies based in the Postwar United States and Mexico’’, had bought land in Mexico for the building of maquiladoras (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011cotton factories), 37throughout the 1910s.</ref>

==The Creation land originally owned by farmers and the working poor were swallowed up by these companies, leaving these Mexican citizens with no other means to provide for their families. The economic circumstances and infrastructural possibilities were set for a culture of migratory labor.<ref> Deborah Cohen, ‘’Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects in the Program==Postwar United States and Mexico’’, (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011), 35-37. See also Deborah Cohen, ‘’Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects in the Postwar United States and Mexico’’, (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011), 37.</ref>

====The Bracero Program, officially named Programs sought to ensure access to Cheap Guest Workers for American Farms====Whatever the Labor Importation Programcircumstances, was created Mexico has long been a source of cheap temporary labor for economic reasonsthe United States. In Until the establishment of the 1930sU.S. Border Patrol in 1924, white Anglos citizens of both countries crossed the border at will, and farmers had decided to move in to the southwestern United States recruited seasonal workers from Mexico without government oversight. Mexican workers also maintained the productivity of American agriculture after the United States entered World War I. The bracero program, at least on paper, was an extension of this type of labor arrangement—a more urban formal and industrious cities in order more tightly supervised agreement to gain more wealth than what they had been earning working their cropsprovide an adequate labor force during another global military conflict. <ref>Gonzalez, Gilbert G. With this huge shift from rural Guest Workers or Colonized Labor? Mexican Labor Migration to urban industriesthe United States. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2005. Study of the government had to make an important decision to bring in a state of Mexican labor force that would be able immigration to sustain their large urban population and help pick the crops that would feed themUnited States into the early twenty-first century.</ref>

After ====The Creation of the Great Depression and the consequential ‘repatriation’ of thousands of Mexican and even UProgram====[[File:BraceroProgram.S. born citizens that had migrated to jpg|thumbnail|250px|left|Braceros arriving in Los Angeles in 1942 (picture by Dorthea Lange)]]The Bracero Program officially named the ULabor Importation Program, was created for straightforward economic reasons.S. as political refugees from In the Mexican Revolution1930s, white In mid-1941, the as it became clearer to U.S. leaders that the nation would eventually decide have to bring back some of enter World War II, American farmers raised the workers it had kicked out. Mexican migrants possibility that there would again be a scapegoat need, as had occurred during the First World War, for many decades foreign workers to come maintain agricultural productivity. The United States looked south for that labor, requesting that the Mexican government provide workers to address the ongoing demands of the American agribusinesses supporting the war effort and each economic downturn in to replace the U.S. would automatically create a ‘’Mexican problem’’poor white, black, a cycle thrust and Latino Americans who were leaving farms to occupy jobs in to existence by this first ‘repatriation’ during the Great Depressionbetter-paying industrialized factories. <ref>Cohen, 111</ref>

In 1942Mexico was initially hesitant, owing to strained racist cultural relations that had been brewing through the U1930s.S. and Mexico struck a deal that would allow The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 ultimately pushed Mexican citizens to become temporary leadership into providing workers in for the U.S. agricultural systems. This program was supposed United States as a way to actively contribute to be completely under the supervision of the UAllied war effort.S. federal The Mexican government and also believed that all contracts participation in such a program would be overseen by themmodernize their country, transforming it into a modern nation-state. NeverthelessEven so, between 1947 and 1951before Mexico would enter into a cooperative labor program with the United States, the federal government had nation demanded that four major issues be addressed: # No Mexican workers would serve in the American military# Mexican workers would not be subject to discrimination# Mexican workers would be given up their role as supervisor transportation to and allowed for workers and employers to create from their own contractsjobs, allowing for certain types of discriminatory practiceswould be provided with decent living conditions, such as extremely low pay and shanti-like living quarters. After waiting sometimes weeks on would be repatriated at the end to enter the U.S. they were allowed in, stripped of their clothes and sprayed with DDT, a toxic chemical thought to rid contracts# Mexican migrants of diseases that they were presumed workers would not be used to be carrying in replace domestic servants or to reduce wage levels Those concerns were addressed, and the U.S. Following final agreement that, established the men would then undergo a medical examination and only the men who seemed impoverishedbracero program was signed on August 4, poor, and only spoke Spanish were picked by the farmers1942.<ref>’’Harvest of Loneliness: The Edward Kosack, “The Bracero Program’’. Films On Demand. 2010. Accessed May 21Program and Effects on Human Capital Investments in Mexico, 1942–1964,” 2013, 2016. http://fodeh.infobase.comnet/eha/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=103120&xtid=43712Kosack.pdf</ref>

====Migrants and Scapegoats====<dh-ad/> Opponents of the program in both nations raised concerns almost immediately. Labor unions in the United States argued that no significant wartime labor shortage existed and therefore no justification for a large continuing influx of migrant workers. Mexico and Mexican laborers raised an issue with violations of the agreement, including that American growers made Mexican workers pay for food, lodging, and tools, and required them to perform tasks beyond those specified in their contracts. Racism was also a common experience for the braceros, as was being paid wages that were far below levels required by the program. <ref>Deborah Cohen, ‘’Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects in the Postwar United States and Mexico’’, (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011), 212-213. See also Robert S. Robinson, “Taking The Fair Deal to the Fields: Truman's Commission on Migratory Labor, Public Law 78, and the Bracero Program, 1950–1952.” ‘’Agricultural History’’ 84, no. 3 (2010): 399. </ref>

As Regardless of complaints or violations, the Korean War came program was renewed in 1947, with Mexicans expanding their work to railroads. The agricultural aspects of the surface agreement were also renewed in 1951, during the 1950s, many UKorean War.S. citizens had once again felt that Aware of the ‘’illegal’’ migrants were getting out checkered history of control and were a threat to the U.program, in the early 1950s President Harry S. economy in Truman established a volatile time. This time commission to study the ‘repatriation’ had a nameagreement, Operation Wetback. Under President Eisenhowerevaluate complaints and violations, this operation would successfully deport over one million Mexican and U.Ssuggest reforms. citizens Any recommendations made by 1954. <ref>Deborah Cohenthe commission were ignored, ultimately, ‘’Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects in because the Postwar United States and Mexico’’, program was economically popular among growers (Chapel Hill: The University because of North Carolina Press, 2011cheap labor), 212and consumers (who paid lower prices for bracero-213harvest crops).</ref> At this point, legislation had fallen through two years prior under President Truman, who tried to reinstate some kind of rights for the migrant workersJohn F. Unfortunately, Kennedy finally ended the big agricultural companies bracero program in 1964 after his commission determined (and their lobbyists would thwart any efforts he had tried to make in order to come up with humane laws convinced Congress) that the growers had to follow in order to keep migrant laborers safe and well-paid. <ref> Robert S. Robinsonagreement was negatively affecting wages, “Taking The Fair Deal to the Fields: Truman's Commission on Migratory Labor, Public Law 78employment opportunities, and the Bracero Program, 1950–1952.” ‘’Agricultural History’’ 84, no. 3 (2010): 399working conditions of domestic laborers. </ref>

The migrant worker population would further destroy Mexico’s economy because of mass migration out of Mexico with no money returning. With Operation Wetback in full effect directly in the middle of the ====Bracero Programs existence, the simultaneous need for labor and need for scapegoats would not help Mexico’s situation economically. In the U.S. the anti-Mexican sentiment would push migrant workers in the Southwest to organize for their rights with the help of organizations such as the United Farm Workers, the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America, and League of United Latin American Citizens. Such organizations were pivotal in creating the momentum for a larger Chicano Movement or ‘’El Movimiento’’ in the Southwest.Program's Significance====

The Bracero Program is still a relatively unknown historical event. Needless to say, the program had major affects on both the Mexican economy and the U.S. agricultural business and immigration policies. Mexico would never truly recuperate from all of the migrants that were lost and the implementation of NAFTA only exacerbated the economic issues that it faced. Small farmers in Mexico would continuously have to compete with U.S. imported produce that was ironically being picked by Mexican migrant workers. Additionally, the U.S. United States would continuously rely on Mexican and Latin American migrant workers while calling for more border reinforcement. NAFTA would continuously allow products to flow through the border but would police the bodies that would cross. Finally, NAFTA would cause enormous job losses for U.S. citizens to new ‘’maquiladras’’ that would continue to flourish with the aid of the new trade agreement. <ref> Bill Ong Hing, ‘’Ethical Borders: NAFTA, Globalization, and Mexican Migration’’, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010), 5.</ref> Essentially, the Bracero Program is important for U.S. and Mexican history because it is a part of a larger pattern that the U.S. constantly involves itself in and only when we acknowledge this pattern can we begin to change the way that migrant labor is handled in the future.

Finally, NAFTA would cause enormous job losses for U.S. citizens to new ‘’maquiladoras’’ that would continue to flourish with the aid of the new trade agreement.<ref> Bill Ong Hing, ‘’Ethical Borders: NAFTA, Globalization, and Mexican Migration’’, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2010), 5.</ref>  Essentially, the Bracero Program was a vital part of U.S. and Mexican history as part of a larger pattern of migrant labor practices, whether considered opportunity or exploitation; only when we acknowledge this pattern can we begin to change the way that migrant labor is handled in the future. ====References====

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