Two old braceros sit on their beds in a tent in a camp near Stockton, California.
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.23.24; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.23.24; Roll #: 23
National Museum of American History, Division of Work and Industry
Restricted: no; Contact: NMAH Rights & Reproductions by email before distribution - rightsreproductions@si.edu
Typists write down what braceros have told them to fulfill the documents at the Hidalgo Processing Center, Texas.
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.14.28; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.14.28; Roll #: 14
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.14.29; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.14.29; Roll #: 14
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.14.30; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.14.30; Roll #: 14
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.14.31; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.14.31; Roll #: 14
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.14.34; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.14.34; Roll #: 14
The U.S. citizen's identification card of Antonio Concha--Ms. Cecilia Concha's brother.
Maria Luz Concha Armendariz U.S. Citizen's Identification card issued in 1935.
The back of Maria Luz Concha Armendariz's U.S. Citizen identification card.
Cecilia Concha's U.S. Citizenship Identification Card issued July of 1935
Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
You are being asked to contribute your story to the Bracero History Archive, which is developing a permanent digital record of the Bracero program. Your participation in the project will allow future historians, and people such as yourself, to gain a greater understanding of this program and its effect on the people involved. You must be 13 years of age or older to submit material to us. Your submission of material constitutes your permission for, and consent to, its dissemination and use in connection with the Bracero History Archive in all media in perpetuity. If you have so indicated on the form, your material will be published on the Bracero History Archive website (with or without your name, depending on what you have indicated). Otherwise, your response will only be available to approved researchers using the Bracero History Archive. The material you submit must have been created by you, wholly original, and shall not be copied from or based, in whole or part, upon any other photographic, literary, or other material, except to the extent that such material is in the public domain. Further, such material must not violate any confidentiality, privacy, security or other laws. By submitting to the Bracero History Archive you release, discharge, and agree to hold harmless the Bracero History Archive and persons acting under its permission or authority, including a public library to which the collection might be donated for purposes of long-term preservation, from any claims or liability arising out of the Bracero History Archive's use of the material, including, without limitation, claims for violation of privacy, defamation, or misrepresentation. The Bracero History Archive has no obligation to use your material.
US citizen identification card for Jose Ortiz
US citizen identification card for Jose Ortiz issed 8/25/1983 in El Paso, TX.
US citizen identification card for Jose Ortiz Espino son of Ernesto Espino.
Smallpox vaccination certificate at the U.S.-Mexico border
The U.S. Public Health Service gave Asterio Lopez Leon this smallpox vaccination certificate at the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Department of Public Health Service
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Valentín Murillo was born in 1932, on a ranch in Michoacán, México; his parents worked on an ejido, and he had five siblings; he was formally educated through the third grade; as a young boy, he helped his family by working in the fields and caring for animals; his mother died when he was a teenager; the family moved to México, Distrito Federal; he eventually married, in 1953; two years later, in 1955, he enlisted in the bracero program; as a bracero, he labored in Arkansas, California and Texas, picking asparagus, beets, cotton, green beans and tomatoes; his last bracero contract was in 1961; he later immigrated to the United States. Summary of Interview: Mr. Murillo briefly talks about his family and what life was like growing up on an ejido; in 1955, he decided to enlist in the bracero program and went through the contracting center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; he recalls the entire process, including lists of eligible workers, waiting times, and transportation to and from the center; in addition, he mentions going through centers in Empalme, Sonora and Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; he was also briefly examined at the centers and again, in more detail, at the border; although he suffered greatly during processing, once he began working in the United States, his situation improved; as a bracero, he labored in Arkansas, California and Texas, picking asparagus, beets, cotton, green beans and tomatoes; he goes on to detail the various worksites, housing, amenities, living conditions, provisions, duties, routines, treatment, payments, contract lengths, correspondence, friendships and recreational activities, including trips into town; moreover, he explains that although some contracts were only forty-five days, it was not uncommon to stay an additional fifteen days without renewing the contract; many men deserted, because forty-five days was not a sufficient amount of time to earn enough money, especially given the debt they incurred coming to the United States; in 1961, he completed his last contract; he ultimately immigrated to the United States in 1995, with the help of his son.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Vance E. Beasley was born on March 11, 1916, in Heber Springs, Arkansas; in 1927, his family moved to Heth, Arkansas; he was the third eldest of his six siblings, four brothers and two sisters; with the exception of one of his sisters, the rest of his siblings passed away; he was educated in public schools, but he often went in late and left early in order to help with the crops; in 1939, he graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in agriculture; soon after he married, and he and his wife had three children; he later went on to help his father and brother with their farming partnership, CJ Beasley and Sons. Summary of Interview: Mr. Beasley describes his family and what his life was like growing up; he also talks about his wife and children; during the midfifties, his father asked him to help with the family farm and the partnership of CJ Beasley and Sons; the dwindling labor supply led to their hiring of braceros, particularly for help with cotton, their primary crop; they took on thirty-five to forty braceros per season, and they stayed for contracts of roughly two and a half months; the farmers were required to provide basic necessities such as housing, bedding and cooking supplies; in addition, the braceros were given picking sacks, which were roughly seven feet long and could hold up to one hundred pounds; there was always at least one man in the group of braceros who spoke English and served as a leader; he would receive pay for all the workers and distribute it accordingly; he was also responsible for helping the men buy groceries; Vance repeatedly mentions the incredible work ethic of the braceros; they picked cotton better than any other workers; in fact, he mentions an instance in which he hired workers from Memphis, Tennessee, but they drank too much and did not pick the row of cotton as clean as the braceros did; he found it easier to pay them to leave; eventually, mechanization took over and eliminated the need for manual labor, which in his opinion, ultimately led to the end of the bracero program.
Institute of Oral History, University of Texas at El Paso
Vendors sell hats and food to braceros waiting to be processed through the Monterrey Processing Center, Mexico.
Local vendors sold food and beverages as well as hats while the braceros had to wait either to enter the Monterrey Processing Center or to be processed inside.
The Leonard Nadel Collection, NMAH. Catalogue #: 2004.0138.04.21; Negative #: NAD-2004.0138.04.21; Roll #: 4
Ventura County Citrus Growers Committee id. card
Card from the Ventura County Citrus Growers Committee, Santa Paula, CA, certifying that Jose Hernandez Romero completed his contract work on 4 - 17 - 59
Ventury county worker card for Gregorio Martinez-Reyes in 1963
Ventury county worker card for Gregorio Martinez-Reyes in 1963. Do not make public until a release form is in order.
Ventury County Citrus Growers Association
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Venustiano Machado was born December 30, 1931, in Sinaloa, México; he had eight siblings, six sisters, all of whom were older, and two brothers; when he was six years old, his father died; shortly thereafter, he began working to help support his family; consequently, he was never formally educated; his mother sold food and various other goods as well; by the time he was fifteen, he was working in the United States; later, during the early 1950s, he enlisted in the bracero program; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Santa Ana, California, picking asparagus, green beans, strawberries and tomatoes; he immigrated to the United States, where he eventually married and raised a family of four. Summary of Interview: Mr. Machado talks about his family and the death of his father when he was a boy; by the time he was fifteen, he was working in the United States; during the early 1950s, he put himself on the list of available workers in Sinaloa, México; he describes the necessary requirements and process he underwent; moreover, he explains that he had to pay ten pesos for someone to fill out the papers, because he was illiterate; once he crossed into the United States, he was stripped and medically examined; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Santa Ana, California, picking asparagus, green beans, strawberries and tomatoes; he goes on to detail camp sizes, housing, accommodations, living conditions, provisions, duties, routines, payments, deductions, remittances, contract lengths and renewals, friendships, correspondence and recreational activities, including trips into town; furthermore, he chronicles having to work seven days a week, thirteen to fourteen hours a day, when picking asparagus and strawberries so they would not spoil; despite the grueling work, he stayed with the same employer for seven years under the program and for an additional three years after obtaining his visa; he eventually married and raised a family of four; upon final reflection, he is proud to have been a bracero, because it changed his life and gave him more opportunities.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Vicente Ayala was born on July 19, 1922, in Tizapotla, Morelos, México; at a young age, he began to work in his family’s fields; he had no formal education; experienced as a field laborer, he performed work for other people; he entered the bracero program in 1956, and worked in Billings, Montana and California; as a bracero, he labored at a cannery and picked corn, grapes, lemons, nuts, and pears. Summary of Interview: Mr. Arizmendi recalls working in the fields of Tizapotla at an early age; he states that he never had the chance to attend formal schooling, and he learned to read and write as an adult; he describes joining the bracero program in 1956 after losing his crops and cattle; additionally, he details the work he did in Billings, Montana and California; he remembers working at a cannery, and picking corn, grapes, lemons, nuts, and pears; furthermore, he continues to explain why he labored as an undocumented worker after the program was terminated; he also discusses the problems he had with immigration officials in Chicago and Wisconsin; moreover, he states that, in his later years, he returned to his hometown after experiencing trouble securing work due to his age.