hired in those positions. An example of this can be seen in the Automobile Industry in Detroit which responded with “wholesale layoffs of Mexicans”(Cardoso 145). Many local Governments refused to give assistance to Mexicans in favor of helping whites. In Chicago and other places of the iron and steel industry ten percent of Mexicans losed their jobs and fifteen percent were laid off in the Construction industry (Hoffman 120). This period of resentment toward the Mexican immigrant was not to last much longer however; with the outbreak of World War Mexicans would be welcomed once again.In 1942 the “Bracero” program was launched to help Mexican workers get jobs in certain agricultural areas. The United States started this program in conjunction with the Mexican Government also. Why was America all of a sudden interested in collaborating with the Mexican Government to allow massive amounts of Braceros into the Country? The reason for this was that World War II created great demands for labor in not only agriculture but in the shipbuilding and aircraft industries as well. Demand for labor was so high in fact that the Government did not crack down on those employers who used illegals to work.The United States’ demand for labor was so exorbitant that the Federal Government agreed that employers would pay for the transportation expenses of the workers and gaurunteed that there would be no discriminatory practices toward the Braceros (Brown 60). The Bracero program forced the U.S. to concede to many demands made by the Mexican Government and the U.S. willingly accepted and allowed a massive influx of Mexican workers across the border. The Bracero program kicked off with 500 contract workers and the numbers grew steadily over time. By 1947 220,000 Braceros had worked under contract in the United States (Copp 59). During this period of demand for labor, Mexicans and other minority groups were not just hel...
