The Mexico/American border has historically been opened and closed depending on the standing of the United States workforce.
When additional labor is in demand, the U.S. enacts legislation to loosen the borders, bringing in Mexican immigrants for cheap labor. However, when unemployment rates are high, the U.S. often curbs immigration and deports immigrant
workers. Such was the case with the Bracero
Program of the 1940s. This paper examines this guest worker program and its varying effects on the border and on Mexican contract workers.