Mexican emigrant workers identification card, 1953
This card identifies Asterio Lopez Leon as a chauffeur in Hermosillo, Sonora on January 11, 1963.
This cedula personal is a personal identification card issued to Asterio Lopez Leon on January 18, 1963.
Backside of a MICA card for J. Carmen Quezada Morales. Lists a birthdate, address, and birthplace. Also lists date and place of admission to the U.S..
Front side of an identification (MICA) card. It reads 'ALIEN LABORER'S IDENTIFICATION CARD" on the top and has a picture of the individual below.
Alien Laborers Identification Card, back, for railroad track laborer Aaron Castañeda Gamez, identifying the Pennsylvania Railroad, as the contractor, 1944.
Identification card for Jesus Rosales Rios, with extension contract dates on one side and rules in Spanish on the other, ca. 1960.
Immigration Identification card for Jose Gamez, issued in Fabens Texas, Feb. 1, 1949.
Alien Laborer's Identification card, front and back, for Timoteo Flores.
Identification card for Antonio Rivera Lopez.
Identification card or MICA for Feliciano Marin, issued in 1957.
Identification card, MICA for Felicino Marin issued 1957 in Calexico, CA.
Alien Laborer's Identification card for Jesus Rivera Lopez.
Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Igancio Gómez was born on January 14, 1936, in Michoacán, México; his father died when he was an infant, and his mother later died when he was twelve years old; as the eldest of three children, he began working in the fields when he was only ten; in 1959, the local government officials sent him to the processing center in El Centro, California; as a bracero, he worked in Arizona, California, and Wisconsin, picking beets, cotton, lettuce, and tomatoes; he continued working as a bracero until 1964. Summary of Interview: Mr. Gomez briefly relays his experiences during childhood and adolescence; he initially learned of the bracero program through his grandfather because the local government officials had contacted him about possible workers; later when Ignacio was eighteen, he was put on the county’s list of eligible workers, and he was sent to El Centro, California; in order to be hired, he had to be healthy, have a working knowledge of the various equipment needed for farming, and specific details about how to carry out particular jobs; in addition, he describes the hiring process, including the interview, medical exams, and delousing procedures; he comments that he never had a choice of where to go or how long to stay, he was only there to work; as a bracero, he worked in Arizona, California, and Wisconsin, picking beets, cotton, lettuce, and tomatoes; while working in Wisconsin, he recalls a particular incident when the workers were given laxatives so that they would not have any problems with the food they were given, but instead they all became very sick; he was then hired as the camp cook, and he goes on to describe the various kinds of food he made and the number of people he had to cook for; in addition he details what daily life was like in general for the workers, methods of payment, living accommodations, and what they did in their spare time; he concludes by discussing the overall advantages and disadvantages he experienced working as a bracero.
Ignacio I. Álvarez was born February 10, 1933, in Guerrero, México; his parents worked in agriculture, and he had six sisters and three brothers; he was formally educated through the second grade; his family was poor, and consequently, he had to work; one of his uncles worked with the bracero program, and when Ignacio was twenty-five years old, he decided to do the same and enlist in the program; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California, irrigating and picking cotton, cucumbers, lemons, oranges and tomatoes; he eventually immigrated to the United States and later married. Summary of Interview: Mr. Álvarez briefly talks about his family; one of his uncles worked with the bracero program, which later led him to do the same when he was twenty-five years old; he describes getting on the list of available workers before going to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, where his hands were examined for signs of manual labor; from there, he was sent by bus to Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, where he was given a thorough medical examination; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California, irrigating and picking cotton, cucumbers, lemons, oranges and tomatoes; he goes on to detail the worksites, housing, provisions, duties, routines, treatment, working relationships, payments, deductions, remittances, friendships and recreational activities, including trips into town; a group of forty to fifty men, including some his friends, went on strike in Arizona, because the conditions were so poor; as a result, they were all fired and sent back to México; Ignacio chose to remain uninvolved, because his family was hungry and suffering in México; he makes repeated comparisons between the camps in Arizona and California, which highlight how deplorable conditions in Arizona really were; once, while he was eating dinner, immigration officials went to the camp to check for proper documentation; after his last contract, he stayed in Tijuana, Baja California, México for a few months, where he met his wife, before immigrating to the United States; he helped her do the same in 1963; overall, he has positive memories of the program.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ignacio Magallanes was born on July 31, 1932, in Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, México; he was the third of seven brothers; at the age of ten, he worked in agriculture; his father joined the bracero program in 1942; at the age of eighteen, he moved to Durango, Durango, México and worked in construction; economic hardship and his father’s insistence pushed him to enlist in the Bracero Program in 1954; he worked in California, Michigan, and Texas picking cantaloupes, lettuce, sugar beets, tomatoes, and watermelons; these activities he performed until 1961. Summary of Interview: Mr. Magallanes describes the economic situation that led him to the bracero program in 1954; he worked in California, Michigan, and Texas; additionally, he details what the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México was like, the treatment he received from American doctors, and his train trip to the México-United States border; he recalls daily activities on farms, the work braceros did, and the way they were paid; furthermore, he discusses the different types of contracts they had and their lengths; he states what braceros did during weekends, and the racism they encountered in the United States; he remembers the benefits of being a bracero, the things he liked and disliked in the U.S., and his fond memories of the program.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ignacio Nájera was born in 1937, in Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, México; he was formally educated for four years; in 1960, he and a group of friends traveled to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, to begin the enrollment process for the bracero program; he worked in the cotton fields of Texas and New Mexico and the beet fields of Montana and Nebraska; he was a bracero for a total of six years. Summary of Interview: When Mr. Nájera began the enrollment process in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México he showed his Mexican military ID and a letter of recommendation; he recalls that sometimes when traveling from Chihuahua to El Paso, Texas, the braceros had to pay in order to get a place on a train or bus; his first work contract took him to the lettuce fields of Hereford, Texas; while there, he was burned with a liquid that was used to disinfect the lettuce; he worked in Montana for three years, where they paid him $14.50 per acre that he picked; in Pecos, Texas the braceros had to pay $10.00 per week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; during their free time, the braceros often played cards.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ignacio Ochoa was born in 1923, at Petatlán, Guerrero, México; he was the first of six siblings, and his mother died when he was twelve years old; from an early age he worked cutting wood; at age fifteen, he moved to Mexico City, México; in 1943, he worked on a Mexican naval boat; he joined the bracero program in 1957, and worked in California and Washington; there he picked asparagus, avocadoes, grapes, green beans, lemons, peas, pumpkins, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon. Summary of Interview: Mr. Ochoa recalls growing up in Petatlán, Guerrero, México, his mother dying when he was twelve years old, and working from an early age cutting wood; he states that he moved to Mexico City, México at the age of fifteen, and that he started working on a Mexican naval boat in 1943; he remembers joining the bracero program in 1957, and working in California and Washington; there he picked asparagus, avocadoes, grapes, green beans, lemons, peas, pumpkins, oranges, strawberries, and watermelon; additionally, he details what the hiring process in Empalme, Sonora, México was like, the contract he signed, and how he didn’t know what it said because it was in English; he describes what daily life was like in bracero camps, what housing they had, and the food they ate; furthermore, he discusses a time when the braceros went on strike over the quality of the food; he also explains the treatment they received from foremen, and how Mexican foremen were worst than American ones; moreover, he relates losing his house in the 1963 earthquake, why he returned to the United States to work as an undocumented laborer, and how he would like to have a visa to live in the U.S.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ignacio Pérez was born in 1924, in Rodeo, Durango, México; he was the oldest of four brothers; an orphan at the age of seven, he grew up with his maternal grandmother; he worked as a shepherd when he was a boy; in 1949, he crossed the México-United States border to work as an undocumented laborer; after a week, he was hired as a bracero; he worked in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas picking cotton and harvesting sugar beets. Summary of Interview: Mr. Pérez recalls crossing the México-United States border in 1949; later, he was hired as a bracero in Rio Vista, a processing center in Socorro, Texas; he worked in Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas; additionally, he describes the farming activities of braceros, their work hours, the housing provided for them, and the food they prepared; he recalls the wages he was paid, the different contracts he had, and how he sent money to his family in México; furthermore, he relates what braceros did during the weekends, and how U.S. citizens in town treated them; he expresses his feelings about the program and the benefits of having worked in the United States.
Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Ignacio Serna Gallardo was born on July 31, 1928, in La Higuera, in the municipality of Huanusco, Zacatecas, México; his father’s name was Gumaro Serna, and his mother’s name was Adelaida Gallardo; both worked in agriculture; Ignacio had three older brothers; he received very little formal education; at a young age, he began caring for the animals and working the land; by the time he was twelve years old, he took on the hard labor of working with the yoke; he later came to the United States illegally, and while there he became a bracero; during the late forties, he labored in the fields of Arizona and Texas cleaning, pruning, picking, and packing cantaloupe, cotton, and lettuce. Summary of Interview: Mr. Serna recalls the small town he grew up in and how it changed over the years; he also talks about his life on the ranch; his uncles and cousins who worked as braceros told him it was easy money; during the late forties, he came to the United States illegally, and while he was in Harlingen, Texas, he was able to obtain a bracero contract; he chronicles the process he went through, including the necessary documentation and medical examinations; furthermore, he was stripped and deloused in public, which he describes as something embarrassing that took away his dignity; although he felt bad at first, he endured the same procedures so many times that he began to see humor in them; he also went through contracting centers throughout México; sometimes, he had to pay between three and five hundred pesos in order to get a contract; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and Texas cleaning, pruning, picking, and packing cantaloupe, cotton, and lettuce; in addition, he goes on to detail the various worksites, living accommodations, daily routines, work conditions, treatment, relationships, provisions, payments, and remittances; he also mentions that while fulfilling one contract he had to sleep on the bare floor without any blankets; although he suffered as a bracero, his overall memories of the program are positive.
Image of photo page album. Top photo: Consuelo Lerma at the Singer store in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Bottom picture: Some farmer's wives, including bracero's wives, making arts and crafts in HELP (Home Education Livelihood Program).
immigration agent at Hidalgo Texas asked my Dad for his Bracero ID card
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