Timelines

In total, more than five million Mexicans entered the United States as braceros, a Spanish word that loosely translates to mean someone who works as a field hand. Labor and human rights abuses abounded under this program. Before being allowed to cross the border, workers were stripped, examined, and sprayed with “white powder,” also known as DDT, to kill lice. Once across the border, many were forced to live in camps, work seven days a week during harvest season, and forgo pay during slow months. Exploitive conditions also led to Bracero activism, most notably in the Northwest. The United Farm Workers labor union rose to prominence shortly after the end of the Bracero program in 1966, under the leadership of César Chávez, Gilbert Padilla and Dolores Huerta.