The Invisible Workers of the U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program

Reviews / Votes

Invisible Workers gives voice to the Braceros, whose perspectives have been largely absent from official accounts.... Mize's writing sheds light on the institutional racism that was woven into the Bracero program's structure, but also into interpersonal relationships.... Mize gives historical context to a longstanding bipolar relationship in which the United States entices documented and undocumented labor to cross the border to do dangerous, backbreaking, dirty, low-paying jobs and then turns on the Mexicans, making them the face of the law-breakers who must be deported for not standing in line to enter and stay legally.... The author deserves high praise for opening eyes to a program in which the United States asked Mexico to send field workers for almost 25 years. * Contemporary Sociology * Adopting a broader historical perspective on immigration can inform an understanding of these issues in ways that a purely present-time focus cannot. This is what Ronald Mize does in The Invisible Workers of the U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program. Although ostensibly a detailed analysis of this post-World War II transnational labor program, the book reads like a penetrating critique of current attitudes toward, and the treatment of, Mexican and other Hispanic laborers. Mize convincingly demonstrates that the situation of these workers can only really be understood by considering the interaction of powerful structural forces shaping migration and subjective intentionality. * American Journal of Sociology * In the Invisible Workers of the U.S-Mexico Bracero Program Professor Mize has written an important book on the former guest worker program and its participants, giving a voice to those made invisible. Indeed, through rich first-hand interviews from former braceros, Mize argues forcibly that braceros were exploited by their class and racial differences and thus ensured their invisibility as recruited guest workers. A well-researched book that adds significantly to the literature on the former guest worker program and challenges readers to re-examine the recruitment of temporary guest workers during today's current period of anti-immigrant scapegoating. -- Paul Lopez, California State University, Chico Invisible Workers by Ronald Mize is nothing less than the definitive history of the U.S./Mexico guestworker program...From this history, one gains a much fuller appreciation than from other historical accounts of the intersection of race and class in the exploitation and oppression of these "guest workers." As the United States continues to contemplate new guest worker programs, Invisible Workers should be a cautionary tale of how far such programs may deviate from the ideals of liberty and justice for all. -- Kevin R. Johnson, Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, UC Davis School of Law The Invisible Workers of the U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program: Obreros Olvidados by Ronald L. Mize comes to life through the oral interviews of Braceros and their families. By including a US and a Mexican perspective, Mize is able to create a thorough study of the Bracero program that includes US attitudes towards Braceros, the Mexican government's ideas about Braceros, how Mexican Americans viewed Mexican Nationals, and Mexican Nationals' visions of themselves and their labor. An excellent book for someone with an interest in the topic or for the college classroom. -- Fawn Amber Montoya, Colorado State University-Pueblo