California did not have a guest worker program in 50s and 60s.
The United States had the Bracero program in the 1940s because the Americans were drafted for World War II.
But they were supposed to leave when the war was over. Their money was kept in a special account...in Mexico.
The farmworkers before them were mostly white, many from the South. Migrant workers used to be from Oklahoma....you also recall. Watsonville in 1950 was 90% white.
But life in the US was far better than Mexico. So many of them simply didnt go home.
This what led to Operation Wetback in 1954. It only took about 500,000 actual deportations and then the other 1.5 million went home on their own.
But the seed had been planted. Once the 60s rebellion got started, the remaining legals and illegals decided to take advantage of the situation to agitate for themselves and their relatives back home. Strength in numbers and the gringos started to show weakness.
It led directly where we are today.
There have always been guest worker programs since the beginning of immigration laws in the US. We have had H2A visas for decades. The A stands for agriculture. We dont need a program, we have always had one.
Its all BS. What is happening now is immivasion, complete anarchy.
PS when they got home, many were paid a fraction of what they were owed. The Mexican government and the bankers stole the rest.
In place of that would be the H2A Ag worker visa and the H2B Non-Ag worker visa, which are seasonal visas.
In the last attempt at immigration reform(2006-07), these two visas were reformed to make them more usable. Additionally, a 3rd temp worker visa was created with a longer term of 2 years with the possibility to renew it 2 more years.
The last try at immigration reform in 2007 was killed by the unions who got 5 GOPers to back them in getting a 5 year sunset clause on the guest worker programs added to the legislation
It also has to do with people being too lazy to mow their own lawns.