Final Paper

Diana Castillo

Ms. Knapp

May 21, 2012

Braceros

Controversial tensions revolving around newly formatted immigration policies have heightened considerably throughout the United States. Voters in general, along with Politicians whom even a few years ago were reluctant to speak about or share opinion on immigration issues, now express themselves very strongly on what should be done with the millions of undocumented people living in the U.S. Mass deportation and guest worker programs are among the possible solutions suggested. In Nelson G. Copp’s Print “Wetback and Braceros,” he states “Prior to 1920 there were no problems of Mexicans in the United States because of the fact that their numbers were small” (Copp. 17). Because this is a new issue that the government is facing, the government doesn’t know what to do with all of the undocumented individuals that have made the U.S their home. One of the most talked about guest worker program is the Bracero Program. This paper will help explain what the Bracero program was about, the different types of discrimination that these migrant workers had to face and the main steps that they had to take in order to become a Bracero.

            The Bracero program started in June 1942 and it ended on December 1^st, 1964. The majority of the Bracero workers were skilled farm workers who came from Mexico. These men were usually in their Mid-30, married with children and typically Roman Catholics (“The Bracero Program”). Their goal was to earn as much money as possible to invest in land and farming equipment in Mexico. Due to this, many Bracero workers constantly moved around in order to find where they would be gaining the most income. California had one of the highest income rates, therefore many workers located in towns like Stockton, Madera, Modest, just to name a few, where Braceros were paid to harvest sugar beets. These were the types of jobs that workers had to accomplish in order to make a living. Even though this may seem like an easy job, it was not.

Migrating labor workers were not valued for their efforts and in most cases the working conditions that they were put through, reflected that. Bracero workers would have to begin working at 6:30 am and would not be done until about 7:30 pm. That is more than twelve hours in a day the pay did not reflect that though, since they were only get paid for six hours. Bracero workers were earning an average of income of $6.70 per week, after deductions. On top of that workers had to pay $1.75 per meal, which consisted of beans and tortillas. Even though the Bracero workers were supposed to be getting paid 50 cents an hour most of them would get paid only 30 cents. These men were performing hard jobs; they had to be working under the sun for hours and also had to be bending over all the time. But were generating low income and they were not consuming proper nutrition through their meals. The Braceros weren’t allowed to work in farms because the program didn’t allow, meaning that these poor men were stuck making very little money and working in really bad conditions. Like stated previously, many of the Bracero workers were Catholic Roman, because the work hours were long and the labor was tiring there was very little opportunity for religious expression; many of them lost their religious beliefs.

Making the really tough choice to leave your family behind and move thousands of miles away to be able to sustain a household was the choice that thousands of Mexican families had to make. In 1958 the Department of Labor took serious note on the amount of Braceros that were requested because of the fact that 5 million U.S citizens were unemployed. During this time period many Americans believed that the mutual hatred between them and Mexicans was due to the fact of lack of culture. Many Mexicans did not relate to Americans because most immigrants did not speak English and did not want to be “Americanized” (Copp 29). A lot of U.S citizens believed that Mexicans would steal and bring in new diseases to the United States. U.S citizens also helped to keep wages low for Bracero immigrants, creating cultural tension between Mexican immigrants, and U.S voters.

On top of having to perform hard labor and getting paid below minimum wage Immigrants also faced discrimination. In most of the states where the Braceros were working there were many restaurants and public places that did not want to provide their services to these immigrants. In places such as San Antonio, Texas there were signs that read “No se Admite a Mexicanos” (Copp  21). These signs were all over town they were even posted outside of Catholic Churches. Even though there were some places where Mexicans were allowed, these places were not as nice and fancy as restaurants that were segregated. Many U.S citizens did not appreciate the hard labor that the Braceros were performing and instead, discriminated Braceros making them feel worthless. In some cases the employers would deport the Mexican workers in order to not be forced to pay for the labor they had performed.  While being deported to Mexico, some individuals came across robbery, having their small savings stolen. In some instances, immigrants even got beaten and killed.

During the 1940’s in various towns in South Texas there were many signs reading, “Mexicans, do not stop here” (Copp 23). When Mexicans had to travel around to look for jobs they were not able to stop to rest, drink water, or relax, near any of these places. Braceros were not welcomed or assisted, even if it was as small as a cup of water. Luckily though, Texas towns realized that discriminating against immigrants was not correct, therefore some towns built shelters and special areas for Mexicans to use when they were just passing through. Many Mexicans traveled to South Texas to be able to work in crops and migrated to the north of Texas plains in late cotton and irrigated farm crops. U.S citizens soon began to accept Mexicans because there were a huge number of them and they basically had no other choice, accepting the fact that they were not going anywhere, and were here to help.

Since there was a shortage in labor the U.S turned to México as a supplier of labor, but there were certain requirements that had to be meet in order to become a migrant worker in the U.S. Some of the most popular recruiting places were Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, across from El Paso, Texas which have become historical recruiting sites (“Uprooted: Braceros in the Hermanos Mayo Lens”). These recruiting centers become crowded with thousands of migrant workers seeking a job to make money to be able to support their families. The fact that there were so many aspirants that wanted to be part of the Bracero program made it a lot harder for workers to obtain a permit to enter the program. Migrant workers were desperate to work. Some Mexican workers created a bribery system in order to be selected for the program, those who knew the tricks would bribe officials and were selected as Braceros.

Once Braceros had a working permit they weren’t quite ready to become properly employed, there were more things that had to be done. For example, Braceros had to pass medical test which insured the U.S that they did not have any type of diseases and were healthy enough to work long hour shifts (Uprooted: Braceros in the Hermanos Mayo Lens”). When Braceros arrived in the U.S they had a very specific way. They were taken to processing centers where they were searched for vegetables, weapons, marijuana and other similar contraband. They also had to be sprayed with DTT by the Department of Agriculture. All these steps had to be taken by those who were granted the working permit.

However there were many Immigrants that were not granted a working permit, choosing to enter the U.S illegally. These immigrants took the risk of entering the U.S, without knowing if farms and railroads companies would hire them because they did not have a valid working permit. The Braceros that had working permit in 1956 were 445,197 which was the same amount of illegal workers that crossed the border without a working permit: Summing up a total of about 890,394 migrant workers, working in fields and on rail roads (“The Bracero Program”). Since their numbers were increasing rapidly, Mexican government hoped that these Braceros would learn new agricultural skills which would benefit the development of México’s own agriculture programs, upon returning to their native land (“The Bracero Program”1942-1964).The Mexican government also saw the possibility of Braceros making good wages in the U.S, and then bringing the money they had generated, to México in order to stimulate the Mexican Economy.

This paper gave insight on what migrant workers faced in order to become part of the Bracero program, the journey, requirements, and sacrifices that they made. The Bracero program was a program dedicated to help migrant workers find jobs in order to make some income to help their families out back home. Unfortunately, many migrant workers faced discrimination, and where often judged by the color of their skin, and the labor that they would perform. The Bracero workers are a great example of hard work, dedication, and commitment. Being judged upon was not something that stopped these migrant workers, they still kept going, working on the field in order to provide a proper meal back home. The United States needs another program like this, not only will it help our economy, but it will also give others the opportunity to work and provide for their families.

Annotated bibliography

The power point from the University of Colorado talked about the Bracero program and some of the push and pulls that the program had to offer. It also provides important information about the number of Braceros that were admitted into the program yearly. There is a list of specific steps that the Immigrants had to take in order to become a Bracero, so it was a very reliable source.

"The Bracero Program." University of Colorado Web. 21 May 2012. <http://www.unco.edu/cohmlp/pdfs/Bracero_Program_PowerPoint.pdf>.

This online article gives important dates and facts about the program. It also describes what the purpose of the program was and why they choose México. What it also explains is what México was hoping to get out of the program and why they were making it so popular all over México.

Durand, Jorge. "THE BRACERO PROGRAM (1942-1964)." Web. 18 May 2012. <http://meme.phpwebhosting.com/~migracion/rimd/revistas/rev9/e2.pdf>.

This print talks about many of the struggles that Braceros faced while they were here in the U.S. it also gives important information and facts about how Americans felt and why they did and did not like the program. This source also talks about specific towns and states here in the U.S that really discriminated again these migrant workers.

Copp, Nelson G. Wetbacks and Braceros. Print.

This book is full of pictures and information about Braceros it really helped me because I was able to actually look at real pictures of real Braceros and to understand their stories. The pictures have a description under them and explain where the picture was taken and what is happening in the portrait.

Mraz, John, and Storey Jaime. Vélez. Uprooted: Braceros in the Hermanos Mayo Lens. Houston, TX: Arte Publico, 1996. Print.