All They Will Call You

During World War II, and particularly after the US entered the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, industry in the US faced a labor shortage. With American men going off to fight, a new source of labor was required. This led to the creation of the Bracero program in 1942. This program brought Mexican temporary workers to the US to pick crops, build railroads, and provide other essential labor. These Mexican workers largely came from poor, rural areas of Mexico and hoped to earn money they could send home to support their communities. Many of the Mexican flight passengers who died in the plane crash had come to the US as part of this program.

When World War II ended in 1945, the US government began to wind down the Bracero program. They pursued an aggressive deportation strategy to remove Mexican migrant workers from the US. However, the agricultural sector still relied heavily on low-wage Mexican migrant labor. This resulted in a revolving-door policy where workers are deported and then they return to the US soon after to continue working. These migration flows largely persist into the 21st century. This creates a precarious situation for Mexican migrant workers who may be in the country illegally and therefore can be deported at any moment, even as their labor is essential to the American agricultural industry.