The Trump administration is nothing short of an abomination to humanity. Under the guise of nationalism and law enforcement, it has waged a racist, xenophobic war against the very immigrants upon whom our economy—particularly our food system—has long depended. Men and women who labor in our fields, build our infrastructure, and prop up service industries are being violently and unceremoniously ripped from their communities and deported. Many are sent to countries they haven’t seen since infancy—or in some cases, have never set foot in at all.
The tragedy is compounded by the collective amnesia of the American public. Very few are aware of the Bracero Program—a government-sponsored labor agreement between the United States and Mexico that lasted from 1942 to 1964. “Bracero,” meaning manual laborer in Spanish, represents a pivotal chapter in our nation’s economic development—one we have conveniently forgotten.
During World War II, the U.S. faced a crippling labor shortage. With millions of men sent overseas, American agriculture and railroads were on the brink of collapse. In response, the U.S. turned to Mexico—and Mexico answered. Through the Bracero Program, millions of Mexican men came north to fill critical jobs in agriculture and rail construction.
They came with promises: fair wages, decent housing, transportation, non-discrimination, and basic human dignity. Few of those promises were honored. These men left their families behind, many living in near-squalid labor camps and working under brutal, dehumanizing conditions. And yet, they fulfilled their end of the bargain. They toiled in our fields, laid our tracks, and fed a nation at war. When WWII ended, the need for their labor didn’t—and neither did their presence. The Bracero Program continued in the agricultural sector, officially until 1964, though the migration it facilitated never truly stopped.
These workers became a permanent fixture in the American economy—not only through their physical labor, but through the taxes they paid, the communities they built, and the cultural richness they brought. And yet, we never offered them a real path to citizenship, never repaid the debt we owed them. Instead, we tolerated them only when we needed them and vilified them when we didn’t.
Now, in 2025, we are watching the dark fruits of this hypocrisy. The current administration—led by a man whose obsession with “removing immigrant criminals” has mutated into a blanket campaign of ethnic cleansing—is tearing families apart, deporting long-time residents, and terrorizing entire communities. Innocent, hardworking people are being dragged from homes, schools, and businesses for no crime greater than the color of their skin or the language they speak. In some cases, even U.S. citizens have been caught in the dragnet—because racism rarely bothers to check paperwork.
This moment recalls one of the most shameful episodes in American history: the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. Then, as now, due process was ignored, and loyalty was questioned based solely on ethnicity. History has judged that chapter harshly. One day, it will judge this one even more so.
It is deeply ironic—and tragically American—that we have now begun to feel the consequences of our own cruelty. With agricultural laborers deported en masse, crops are rotting in the fields. The food supply chain is collapsing in places. Farmers are panicking. And now, the very people who cheered for mass deportations are desperately calling for exceptions, begging ICE to pause enforcement in red-state agricultural zones, lest they go bankrupt.
This is the bitter truth: the greatness of this country was built on the backs of immigrants. From Chinese railroad workers to Irish steelworkers, from African labor stolen through slavery to the braceros of Mexico, America has always depended on those it has treated the worst. And now, in our hour of self-inflicted need, we are once again forced to turn to our neighbors to the south, not because of war—but because our own citizens refuse to do the hard work this country requires to function.
We spit in the faces of the people who once saved us, and now we ask them for help again. If there’s a clearer example of national hypocrisy, history has yet to write it.
Further Reading: Unearth the Hidden History Behind Braceros & Deportation
Support independent bookstores by using Bookshop.org affiliate links:
- Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects in the Postwar United States and Mexico – Deborah Cohen. A definitive history of the program that brought millions of Mexican laborers to U.S. fields. Available at https://civilheresy.com/Braceros
- Abandoning Their Beloved Land: The Politics of Bracero Migration in Mexico – Alberto García. Explores Mexican political and social context behind Bracero participation—and why so many paid the price. Available at https://civilheresy.com/Abandoning Their Beloved Land
- Undocumented Lives: The Untold Story of Mexican Migration – Ana Raquel Minian. Traces how U.S. immigration policy trapped undocumented migrants in uncertain status—resonant with today’s crackdown. Available at https://civilheresy.com/Undocumented Lives
If this moved you, share it!
