Legacies of the Bracero Program, 1942-1964

Fifty years have passed since the Bracero Program formally ended, yet its legacies endure. During this event, Professor Rodolfo Dirzo (Director, Center for Latin American Studies; Bing Professor of Environmental Science, Stanford University) will address the significance of the Bracero Program not only to the ancestry but also to the human and social capital of people of Mexican descent in the United States. Professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar (Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; Stanley Morrison Professor of Law, Stanford University) will examine the legacy of the Bracero Program on the “here and now” of immigration reform. Their comments will be followed by “teachable moments” that will be shared by former high school teacher Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, who currently works in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford, where he conducts research on the Bracero Program. Following the talks and dinner, ten former braceros will be recognized.

Hosted by the Center for Latin American Studies at Stanford (CLAS), the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University (FSI), and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE).