The Bracero Program
When Braceros were recruited they were told that they would earn a minimum wage of 50 cents per hour along with other benefits such as insurance, safe and free housing, transportation to and from their place of origin and destination, and protection from discriminatory acts of any kind. However, little to none of those promises were kept as they ended up working long hours in terrible conditions while earning little to no wages. While contracts were provided to the men looking to participate in the program it is important to note that many of them signed the contracts without thoroughly reading through them due to not being able to read or write or the fast turn around in between being handed the contract and having to board the train to leave Mexico.
Recruitment centers for the Bracero program ran throughout Mexico, many of them becoming crowded with the overwhelming amount of people wanting to work in the United States. It became difficult to obtain permits resulting in rules being broken and many bribing their way to the top of the list. Once selected they said goodbye to their families and made their way into the United States traveling for days in crowded and unsanitary trains. Upon arriving in the United States they were taken to processing centers where they would be searched for contraband, stripped down, and sprayed down with extremely toxic and dangerous chemicals such as kerosene, pesticides, DDT, and Zyklon B.