The Bracero Program: Discrimination In The US

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The official Bracero Program started in 1942 and ended in 1964. The Bracero Program was a program that allowed Mexican farmers to come to the United States to work on the agricultural fields. Close to 5 million Mexican crossed to the United States to work in the fields of America as “braceros.” This program was basically based on an open and tolerated exploitation of men, women, and children. However, It was not that time were farm workers started struggling. For example, in the 30s the cotton pickers went on strike against low wages. An article of that time reveals that the cotton pickers were being paid 75 cents a day instead of one dollar, and that they worked from 13 to 14 hours a day instead of the 9 hours they were supposed to work. On August 1942, Public Law was instituted. It stated that Mexican workers would not be subject to discrimination while in the U.S.; but it did not specify what was considered discrimination. This law ended in December 31, 1947. …show more content…
In July 1951, the Public Law 78 was passed. This law included the importation of farm workers for agricultural purposes and was supposed to protect domestic laborers from loss of jobs. It, however, affected domestic laborers because many farmers offered jobs to U.S. workers at reduced pay.
In the 70s, farm workers started to organize campaigns throughout the country and particularly along the border. One of the most important organization was in the Rio Grande Valley with the Texas Farmworkers Union, also known as the TFW. The TFW organized protests to demand fair wages and improvement in working conditions. The TFW even did a “March for Human Rights” from Austin to Washington D.C. to see the president and see if he would support them. Unfortunately, President Carter refused to meet with the members of the