--- ---  # Long-Lost Photos Reveal Life of Mexican Migrant Workers in 1950s America  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 11, 2017 1:00 PM UTC  Portrait of Mexican farm laborer, Rafael Tamayo, employed in the United States under the Bracero Program to harvest crops on Californian farms, 1957. Portrait of Mexican farm laborer, Rafael Tamayo, employed in the United States under the Bracero Program to harvest crops on Californian farms, 1957.Sid Avery—MPTV  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 11, 2017 1:00 PM UTC World War II affected the U.S. labor market in countless ways, but in the farms of the South and West, the impact was perhaps most visible when harvest time arrived. With American workers off fighting and therefore [hard to come by](http://time.com/vault/issue/1942-09-14/page/24/), Mexican farm workers were brought to the U.S. as legal guest workers known as [_braceros_](http://time.com/3722532/bitter-harvest-life-with-americas-migrant-workers-1959/).  One of Avery's contact sheets Sid Avery—MPTV The program continued after the war ended, as workers continued to cross the border in search of work. That was the world documented in 1957, when the photographer [Sid Avery ](http://time.com/4537774/sid-avery-hollywood-photos/)was assigned by the _Saturday Evening Post_ to do a story on the Bracero program. Now, 60 years later, the photo agency MPTV has uncovered some of those photos, which haven’t been published since the original story. Avery was best known for his work with celebrities, but this assignment sent him in a different direction. The accompanying article, by Fred Eldridge, explained how each year more than 400,000 legal Mexican laborers filled the role of “modern agricultural mercenary” helping make the U.S. farming industry work. “I came to America,” Rafael Tamayo, the main subject of the story, told _The Saturday Evening Post_, “because my family and I are very poor. I am a _campesino_ \[farm worker\]. I earn seven pesos a day.”  One of Avery's contact sheets Sid Avery—MPTV At that rate — seven pesos was the equivalent of 56 American cents — Tamayo had decided it was worth the risks and the social stigma to enter the program. If he wound up with an undesirable contract he would be out his expenses, but a good job could help him move up in the world. The generally rosy view presented by Avery and Eldridge was not a complete picture of the Bracero program. For example, activists on both sides worried about exploitation of and discrimination against Mexican labor, and the broader effects on the economy of bringing workers from one market to another. But when the program was allowed to expire at the end of 1964, farmers [protested](http://time.com/vault/issue/1965-06-04/page/27/) that they could not find or afford enough American workers to harvest their crops — and [undocumented immigration ](http://time.com/4108061/donald-trump-eisenhower-immigration/)[soared](https://time.com/4411701/immigration-policy-history/). More recently, as the subject of undocumented immigration from Mexico has continued to make news, some officials on both sides of the border have[ come together](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/business/economy/if-immigration-cant-be-stopped-maybe-it-can-be-managed.html) to suggest a return to something like the Bracero Program. “With proper design,” they [wrote](https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/CGD-shared-border-shared-future-report-eng1.pdf), “bilateral regulation can bring prosperity shared by both countries, secure workers’ rights in both countries, cripple unlawful activity in both countries, and serve as a model around the world.” _Michelle Molloy, who edited this photo essay, is a senior photo editor at TIME._  Portrait of Mexican farm laborer, Rafael Tamayo, employed in the United States under the Bracero Program to harvest crops on Californian farms, 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV  Mexican farm workers, on a farm in California, 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV  Mexican laborers show their 'permission to work' papers in California, 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV  Mexican laborers in line at a reception depot for processing and assignment in El Centro, Calif., 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV  After the various medical examinations, the men are dusted with DDT. Sid Avery—MPTV  A Mexican farm laborer climbs a ladder under a date palm tree, California, 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV  Tamayo and his fellow workers take a break for food during their work day on a ranch in California, 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV  Tamayo relaxes with a fellow worker inside the temporary living quarters, California, 1957. Sid Avery—MPTV Mexican Immigration Photos: Long-Lost Images of Braceros ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4711867/bracero-program-sid-avery/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4711867/bracero-program-sid-avery/"},"headline":"Long-Lost Photos Reveal Life of Mexican Migrant Workers in 1950s America","datePublished":"2017-04-11T13:00:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:58.830Z","description":"A photo agency has unearthed images from 1957 that showcase a defunct program that brought laborers from Mexico to work legally in the U.S.","url":"https://time.com/4711867/bracero-program-sid-avery/","keywords":["Labor","California","Agriculture","Immigration","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt197d1a4c46e0a05f/6988bfb4fb4eacc84e8913d0/bracero-program-mexican-border-a-0028.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt197d1a4c46e0a05f/6988bfb4fb4eacc84e8913d0/bracero-program-mexican-border-a-0028.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Bracero-Program-Mexican-Border-a-0028","caption":"Portrait of Mexican farm laborer, Rafael Tamayo, working in the United States under the Bracero Program, 1957.","creditText":"Sid Avery—MPTV","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/labor/","name":"Labor"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4711867/bracero-program-sid-avery/","name":"Long-Lost Photos Reveal Life of Mexican Migrant Workers in 1950s America"}}]}] ```