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Crystal Guzman is a student at College of the Atlantic.
In the United States, bringing guest workers from other countries to work agricultural jobs is nothing new. In 1942, The Bracero Program was born out of worry about labor shortages in low-paying agricultural jobs during World War II. As a solution, a series of bi-lateral agreements between the United States and Mexico gave millions of Mexican men short-term agricultural labor contracts. Rather than confronting the deeper problem of the stressful working conditions and low wages, the band-aid solution was to bring willing workers from Mexico. From 1942 until the end of the program in 1964, workers signed 4.6 million contracts. More often than not, the work was incredibly strenuous, with workers facing exploitation and racial discrimination while growers profited from the endless supply of cheap labor.
Here in Maine, the agricultural season has begun, and migrant workers are arriving to work on farms across the state as part of the H-2A program.
The H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers Program is another guest worker program that is incredibly similar to the Bracero Program. The H-2A program allows employers to hire workers from other countries (primarily Mexico) to work temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs as long as the employer can...
Matt Arnold had done nothing wrong when a staff member approached him at the Sainsbury’s East Dulwich checkout. He had scanned his items, tapped his Nectar card, and was told he couldn’t be served...