THE PROBLEMS WITH GUEST WORKER PROGRAMS Peter A. Kindle Kacie Liput-Campbell University of Houston

35.2 million or 12.1% of US residents are foreign-born. 30.7% are from Mexico; almost half from Central and South America. 9.6-9.8 million of this number are undocumented. 500,000 new undocumented migrants come each year with post-2000 trends increasing. (Camarota, 2005).

Politics and Immigration Liberal? 11 year waiting period with substantial fines Closed Border Employer Sanctions Temporary Guest Workers Conservative? Deportation Closed Border Employer Sanctions No Guest Workers

NOTABLE QUOTES “Anybody that votes for an amnesty bill deserves to be branded with a scarlet letter A” Rep Steve King of Iowa A

“Mr. President. We are not a tribe. We are not an ethnic conclave “Mr. President. We are not a tribe. We are not an ethnic conclave. We are a nation of immigrants, and that distinction has been essential to our greatness” Sen. John McCain

Our Goals To provide a framework for analysis of guest worker programs. To look at the historical consequences of the Bracero Program (1942-1964). To suggest essential ingredients for a socially just reform of immigration law.

Pawns Buffeted by Competing Interests Sending Nations US Interests Border Security Budget Relief Political problems Unemployment Business Cheap Labor / Union Busting Remittances New Skills Return / Capital Labor Wage Impact

Control Balance Theory Control Surplus Exploitation Plunder Decadence Balance: Non-deviant Behavior Control Subjected Control Exercised Control Deficit Predation Defiance Submission Kindle (in press) Tittle (1995)

Degrees of Disempowerment Guest workers lose most home support but little home obligation. Guest workers have limited avenues through which to appeal host country inequities. Guest workers lack legal status to challenge employer abuse. Guest workers live under threat of deportation.

What controls are in place that could protect the guest workers?

Bracero Program (1942-1964) Bilateral US-Mexico agreement included protective provisions that were not enforced. Over 4 million Braceros entered the US during the program.

Degrees of Disempowerment II As US and Mexico administrative costs increased, worker protection declined. Recruitment centers moved from central Mexico to the border. Responsibility for recruitment devolved to employers over time. Employers came to prefer undocumented workers to Braceros.

Consequences of Bracero Program Substandard wages, housing, and food Unsafe working conditions Job abandonment and infiltration into other domestic labor categories Union-busting Low wages and low capital investment in agriculture Dependency on low-wage workers Border recruitment increased undocumented entry Permanent residence in US for undocumented workers Union busting

National Shame

Do we really have to do it all over again?

Do we really think we can stop people willing to: Mortgage their home to pay a coyote to guide them across the desert? Risk their lives in that crossing? Leave their children for decades in order to send money home to help them?

Will any fence be strong enough?

Deep enough?

Do we really want to turn away this kind of commitment?

“Mr. President. We are not a tribe. We are not an ethnic conclave “Mr. President. We are not a tribe. We are not an ethnic conclave. We are a nation of immigrants, and that distinction has been essential to our greatness” Sen. John McCain

Ingredients for Socially Just Immigration Reform Acknowledgement of economic motives As long as the US continues to have the most robust economy in the western hemisphere, socially just immigration reform demands an open border. Worker parity with employers The only program that is likely to do no harm to workers is one that severely restricts the rights of employers. Ready access to full civil rights Power disparities inevitably lead to abuse. Socially just immigration reform requires elimination of power disparities.

We can do better than this! We must do better than this!

Selected References Camarota, S. (2005). Immigrants at mid-decade: A snapshot of America’s foreign-born population in 2005. Retrieved June 13, 2006 from http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/back1405.html Kindle, P. A. (in press). Assessing power and control differentials: Understanding dysfunctional agency from the client’s perspective. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 14(3). Tittle, C. R. (1995). Control balance: Toward a general theory of deviance. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.