Braceros: The Controversial History of US-Mexico Farm Worker Programs with Dr. Matthew Garcia

By National Young Farmers Coalition

The Bracero Program began in 1942 as an agreement between the United States and Mexico to bring Mexican workers to the U.S. to replace men who were leaving farms to fight in World War II. The program didn’t end with the war, however, it actually grew by hundreds of thousands of workers, and continued until 1964, laying the foundation for our current agricultural guest worker programs. Lindsey discusses the program's history, and its intersections with contemporary immigration, labor, and food justice issues with Dr. Matthew Garcia, professor of History and Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies at Dartmouth College.