On March 14, the Glenwood Springs Library hosted Dr. Ernesto Sagás, who presented on Latinx history on the Western Slope. Organized by the Glenwood Springs Historical Society, the presentation introduced Sagás’ book, “Latino Colorado: The Struggle for Equality in the Centennial State.” With a PhD in political science and a focus in Latin American studies from the University of Florida, Sagás now teaches ethnic studies at Colorado State University and is a Univisón Colorado political analyst.
Sagas dedicated the book “To the people of Colorado, whether they just got here or have been here all along.”
The presentation highlighted topics such as immigration rates, policies like the Bracero Program and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the significance of the proximity of Mexico to the United States, stereotyping and job racialization and more.
One such topic Sagás reported on was the rate of Mexican immigration into the United States and how mass immigration correlated directly to policies like the Bracero Program in 1942 and NAFTA in 1994. He noted that the largest migration — over 2 million people — from Mexico to America was a result of the Bracero Program and again thousands more when NAFTA was passed to help with trade between Canada, the United States and Mexico.
In English bracero means “working with one’s arms” or “manual laborer.” Because of the shortage during World War II, this program was invented to bring over cheap laborers; in Colorado farmers sought hard working immigrants to grow and harvest beet sugar. Sagás noted that America understood the benefits of paying Mexican workers low wages, not having to provide proper housing and filling in labor that white Americans did not want. The program was extended beyond its initial timeline because of the benefits; it ended in 1964, decades after the war.
According to Sagás, ICE is not the first organization of its kind. First-born Mexican Americans have faced coerced deportation before. In 1954, while the Bracero Program was still in effect, the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration ordered Operation Wetback which was a mass deportation of Mexican workers. Despite the fact that these workers came to the United States legally, over a million Mexican workers were deported, some of which were first-generation, while thousands of immigrants were still being brought in.
“Mexicans are ideal workers because we — America — can deport them away when we are finished with them,” Sagás said.
Mexico’s proximity to the United States allowed — and continues to allow — for America to use the workers when needed and deport them when that work is completed. “They have been ‘the scum of the earth’ because of this replenishment cycle,” Sagás said, while explaining the systemic cycle of repatriation and how the highest levels of Mexican immigration into America happened because of legal policies and government programs, yet protection of Mexican and Mexican American workers was not prioritized or upheld.
This cycle of Mexican immigrant labor has also steadily shaped the sentiment that certain jobs are “dirty.” He discussed how stereotypes and prejudice towards immigrants creates an association that some jobs should be for immigrants, yet at the same time puts forward the thought that immigrants are somehow responsible for America’s job insecurity. Sagás’ presentation showed how ethnic division of labor and racialization of jobs creates division between immigrants and people in America.
Latinx immigration is a part of Colorado history and Sagás’ presentation brought forth this knowledge and historical perspective. His book is available online.