United States citizens had been available for these jobs during the immense unemployment that existed during the 1930s, forcing the Mexicans out. World War II saw these workers enlisting in the military, working in factories, or moving into other jobs as the economy generally expanded. The Mexican immigrants not only provided the plentiful labor that was needed, but they provided it cheaply -- typical wages were between fifty or sixty

Bracero Program and Social Inequality The Bracero Program was a WW2 initiative decreed by Executive Order that allowed Mexican labor on U.S. farms. It was known as the Mexican Farm Labor Program and the purpose of this program was to ensure that labor shortages did not result in the agricultural sector in the wake of so many American men being drafted or volunteering for the war. The temporary usage of

In fact, one study suggested that if a fruit or vegetable could not be harvested mechanically, it would not be grown in the United States after 1975 (Braceros: History, Compensation). Workers in the Bracero Program faced a great amount of worker exploitation in the form of low pay and lost wages, both from the United States government as well as their own home government in Mexico. Currently, the governments of

For example a study in 1982-83 had found that illegal aliens were contributing more to the economy than the state was spending on them. (Cited in LeMay, ed. 1989, 10) There is much confusion in connection with the economic impact. Some studies feel that illegal aliens contribute very little considering the fact that they are usually employed in low paying jobs. Economists have consistently argued back and forth as to whether

INTRODUCTION The U.S. was formed by immigrants: they came from Europe—from England, Germany, Poland, Ireland, France, Italy, and many other countries. Later on, they began coming in from Asia, and then from Mexico—particularly during the 20th century when the Bracero Program was put into effect by the U.S. federal government to help ensure that the fields were taken care of while the men were off fighting in WW2 (Calavita 1992). This

Why Immigration Reform is Needed Immigration reform has almost always been a thorny issue in America. Though it is popularly believed that America was born of a nation of immigrants, the reality is that the original 13 colonies largely consisted of individuals from one specific part of Europe—England—and from the time of the War for Independence onward it was a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASPs) ethic that served as the fulcrum for