Last Braceros Leaving as Job Program Ends
January 1, 1965

EL CENTRO—Hundreds of Mexican braceros started streaming across the border to their native land on New Year's Eve—the last of more than 100,000 who helped harvest California crops in 1964.

Whether they will return to the United States still is up in the air as the controversy over braceros versus domestic farm workers continues.

All of the remaining 9,000 Mexican braceros now leaving California must be back in Mexico by Tuesday, according to Walter Francis, manager of the large, government-operated reception center here.

1,000 Loss Daily

About 1,000 have been repatriated daily for the last four days and the deadline may be met if no major transportation problems arise, he said.

Braceros worked in the fields Thursday until late afternoon, picking Imperial Valley lettuce, but quit at the end of the day because the 13-year-old Mexican farm labor import program died at midnight.

At the reception center, braceros loaded their belongings on buses for the 14-mile trip to the border and many voiced sadness at leaving the country, possibly for good.

Happy With Job

Typical was Guadalupe Becera Tapete, 33, who said that working as a bracero was "the best job I ever had. It was good for me, my wife and my children."

Wearing a new black leather jacket, Becera said that about two weeks ago the braceros were given hope "unofficially" that they might remain in California when the labor import program expired.

"But apparently the governments of Mexico and the U.S. could not get together on an agreement, and we must go home."

"But we may be back. I don't think the locals want to do this kind of work."

Statement Disputed

Meanwhile, however, the hundreds of jobless American workers who flocked to the state employment offices to replace braceros on the farm jobs disputed Becera's statement.

And harassed officials of the Department of Employment continued to complain that some growers don't want to give domestic American workers a chance to prove they can replace braceros.

Edwin H. Peters, state farm placement supervisor for San Diego and Imperial counties, said he was "puzzled and angered" by the Imperial Valley lettuce growers' decision not to co-operate in a state-federal recruitment drive for American farm workers.

Growers' Reaction

Herbert Lee, president of the Imperial Valley Farmers Assn., Wednesday told the State Department of Employment that lettuce growers would not continue in the crash recruitment program because "the caliber of worker being referred to us these last few days would make our harvest problems even greater than the impending labor shortage."

"I don't know what H. Lee is up to, but it is very confusing. We tried to help them replace the braceros because of their claim that a labor shortage crisis is coming. Now they don't want to co-operate," Peters protested.

Peters said Imperial Valley growers are complaining because the local farm office is sending them too many domestic workers.

"This is not true," he said.

"In December, 1963, the local office referred 195 workers to farm jobs in El Centro area."

"This year, in the same period, we have referred 238 workers, and this certainly does not appear to be a large number considering growers' claims that they need 1,800 farm workers."

As of Wednesday night, the Department of Employment had signed up 2,586 U.S. citizens for the jobs, and had placed 1,002.