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When the farmers started using “illegals” they weren’t illegal. CA had a Bracero program where the labor force crossed the border legally and went home during the off seaon. I don’t remember when that was stopped, but it was phased out a number of years ago. Now they have a mess.

Shortly after WWII, my uncle found the migrant labor force undependable and he organized a co-operative among his neighboring ranchers in the Chowchilla area. They pooled their resources and purchased a cotton picking machine — first in the Valley. They eliminated the need for migrants.

There have been illegals for a long time, even before the Braceros(1947), which dealt only with ag workers. Even while Bracero was in effect, there were lots of illegals. A good example of this is Operation Wetback in 1954 while the Bracero was in effect.

Bracero ended in 1964 and in 1965 Congress passed the Immigration and Nationality Act which created the H2A temp ag worker visa which is still used today. Along with the H2B non-ag worker visa.

But not many farmers use the H2A because it is very complicated to use and while it has an unlimited quota there may only be 30,000 workers. Those workers that do use it will oftentimes not leave with the visa expires and they become illegal.

“When the farmers started using “illegals” they weren’t illegal. CA had a Bracero program where the labor force crossed the border legally and went home during the off seaon. I don’t remember when that was stopped, but it was phased out a number of years ago. Now they have a mess.”

I graduated from HS in Northern California in1958. It was about that time that the Bracero Program was terminated because the Blacks (who were left here with nothing to do after the defense plants and shipyards closed after WWII, locally Kaiser Shipbuilding in Richmond) complained that the “Guest Workers” were taking their jobs. But guess what, the lazy Blacks didn’t really want to do the kind of back breaking work that picking crops entailed. That left the farmers with few options. But also you should go have a look at the “accommodations” our farmers provided for their Mexican workers. These places were slums of the first order so don’t be too supportive of their “efforts,” as they didn’t treat their workforce at all well.
As far as growing cotton here is concerned, it is a crop that should never have been allowed owing to the amount of water it requires. Same for rice.