​Introduction:

         When I was around four, I had a long, hard day of coloring, reading picture books, and putting my little pony stickers on anything I could reach. It was a very difficult day, honestly, and it all really tuckered me out. And while I was working on my extensive homework, I heard my dad’s boots dragging up to the front door. Excitedly, I came to welcome him home. I don’t notice how his shoulders relax once he steps through the door, and I don’t notice the relief on his face when he’s out of the unforgiving sun. Many undocumented immigrants go through the same schedule my own dad does, working in many unspeakable conditions to earn a living for themselves and their families. Today, we’ll look at the migratory relationship between the United States and Mexico.

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Analysis:

        The U.S. relationship with Mexican migrant labor is long-standing. In the year 1924, there were various ethnicities of people arriving from all over the world, trying to find their way in the land of opportunity and freedom. This included Mexicans, who sought to escape the violence of the Mexican Revolution, which claimed almost 1.9 to 3.5 million lives according to the Minnesota Population Center. In the early 1900s, Mexican workers were explicitly exempted from immigrant quotas to satisfy agricultural lobbyists who claimed a need for a docile, strong-willed labor force. This established a pattern of treating these workers as a convenient commodity rather than a protected class of employees. The farmers argued they wouldn’t have the labor needed to sow and harvest crops in time; farmers relied on them excessively. They were understood to be a temporary issue in daily life. There was a very popular notion that eventually, the migrant workers would leave. Shortly after migrants started settling, the depression came in, sweeping through the United States, and there was less of a need from an extra pair of hands. Thousands of those who came for a good opportunity were under pressure to leave or be deported due to the repatriation of Mexicans, which according to the USCIS, or the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, most left on their own terms, an estimated (four hundred thousand) 400,000 to a million left, while very few were deported back to their place of birth. But after the depression, World War two decided to plagued the United States, and a few Hispanics returned to the U.S. for the Bracero program (1942-1964), which according to Bracero Archive, the program consisted of mostly bi-lateral agreements between Mexico and the unites states that permitted contracted immigrant work for only Hispanic men where they worked for a short amount of time in primarily agriculture labor. This large-scale labor program, while formalizing migration, was rife with exploitative practices, including exposure to dangerous conditions and excessive deductions for room and board. On paper the bracero’s were only working in certified areas that had low domestic workers, they would receive some minimal benefits, and at the end of their contract they would be sent back to Mexico without any kind of transport fee, but the reality was that people used them as a cheap labor choice and the growers would benefit from their cheap, and bountiful work. They were exposed to deadly chemicals and absurd charges for room and board, and the obviously harsh, demanding labor. It goes without saying that they were also spending incredibly long amounts of time away from their family. Despite all the exploitive practices in the agricultural scene, they once again relied heavily on the work of the immigrants. The bracero program finally ended by congress on December 31 of 1964, after 22 years.

           The Bracero Program’s termination did not end the agricultural sector's dependency, however. It was effectively replaced by the contemporary H-2A temporary agricultural visa. This program continues the cycle, creating a power imbalance that enables exploitation. As reported by organizations like Polaris, H-2A workers, often arriving in debt from recruiter fees, face significant obstacles to asserting their rights due to language barriers, illiteracy, and isolation. Their legal status is tied to their employer, limiting their ability to report violations. The demand for H-2A workers has surged, with a 64.7% increase from 2017-2022, highlighting the U.S. economy's continued reliance on this labor force. While the U.S. Department of Labor implemented new rules in June 2024 to increase employer oversight and worker protections, the fundamental structure of the program continues to render workers vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking. According to the American immigration council, this has resurfaced the concern of worker exploitation. The council also mentions the new rules implemented by the United States department of labor (DOL), to protect the workers and enforce more employer oversight to avoid exploitation. These protections were put into place in June 2024, a little over a year from now, to ensure the protection of exploitation of these workers.

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Conclusion:​​

         The United States has maintained a migratory labor system for over a century that is vital to its domestic food supply yet deliberately designed to maximize grower convenience at the cost of worker rights. From the Bracero Program to the modern H-2A system, the legal framework has perpetuated a cycle where economic dependency and worker exploitation are inextricably linked. True reform requires moving beyond temporary fixes to address the foundational power imbalances within these labor programs.