October 19, 1948
The U.S. Border Patrol in El Paso area began turning back the stragglers in the army of migrating braceros from Mexico at 11 a.m. Monday when Grover C. Wilmoth, local director of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, ordered the border closed to “invading” alien agricultural workers.
The order closing the border gates and stopping the recruiting of Mexican laborers came after 7000 of the braceros had splashed across the river since Wednesday.
Wilmoth said he acted because all orders from the U.S. Employment Service for workers had been filled by the 6000 braceros who had crossed the border since Saturday, when the U.S, Immigration Service lifted the ban on immigration from Mexico to relieve the severe manpower shortage in the cotton fields of the Southwest.
Wilmoth announced the return to previous Immigration Service policy after a morning meeting of Don Larin, head of the farm placement division of the U.S. Employment Service; Fred C. Wendt, manager of the Texas Employment Commission in El Paso; Chief Inspector G.J. McBee of the Border Patrol and Wilmoth.
During the morning conference it was decided that if the braceros were allowed to keep coming, wages in the Southwest would be affected, since the farm labor situation is no longer critical, according to Wilmoth.
Inspector McBee Monday said that the number of [racial epithet] crossing the border was “tapering off all the time,” and that only about 250 were turned back Monday afternoon.
Before the order to close the border to [racial epithet] was given, some 300 farm laborers were processed Monday morning, according to McBee.
More than 2500 braceros had been processed by the Border Patrol since Saturday night, part of at least 7000 men from every state of Mexico who have swarmed across the river since Wednesday after recruiting negotiations between the United States and Mexico over wages to be paid the workers fell through.
Sunday night the rush by employers to obtain workers was about over, according to Wendt, whose office had set up temporary recruiting stations up and down the Valley.
By Monday all of the recruiting stations were closed and apparently all of the labor needs of cotton farmers in the area had been met.
Local recruiting was halted at 11:20 a.m.
“These recruiting stations were set up to relieve the labor shortage in West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, and the situation has been relieved,” Wendt said.
Apparently abandoning hope of the Juarez labor recruiting office ever being opened, Don Larin, chief of the farm replacement service of the United States Employment Service, Monday boarded a plane on his return trip to Washington.
Will Rogers, Dallas and other USES regional representatives, who arrived here more than a week ago to assist in processing Mexican nationals for work in this country, also have departed for their respective headquarters.
Wilmoth’s office Monday was flooded with long distance calls for Mexican labor. Wilmoth’s reply to each was “the order has been closed against this type of labor.”
Not a single alien was being held Monday by immigration officials on a charge of having entered his country illegally. The last of the alien “army” which “invaded” this country last week, had been returned to Mexico. That is, those who were captured here.
Henry Clifton, who has been doing a rushing business in [racial epithet], ever since he took over a U.S. commissioner last August, Monday had nothing to do but twiddle his thumbs.
Not even one [racial epithet] appeared for a hiring in his court. Federal officials recalled that Monday was the first Monday since 1941 when aliens were not arraigned before the local U.S. Immigration Border Patrolmen.
Lt. Col. Enrique Gonzalez, officer in charge of the Juarez garrison, Monday said Mexican troops would continue to patrol the river to stop illegal exodus of braceros.
A local protest against the lifting of the ban on immigration here Saturday, was voiced Monday by Frank Booth, business agent of El Paso Building and Construction Trades Council.
Booth said that “it would be all right if the braceros would go to the farms, do their work, and then return to Mexico. But everyone knows this won’t happen. Already there are a number of them working on construction jobs at wages under the union scale.”
We in El Paso have been fighting for a long time for a living wage and now these braceros are undermining us, Booth state.
Booth said that he has lodged a protest with the International representative of the A.F.L. in Fort Worth. Booth also is agent for the International Hod Carriers, Building and Construction of the A.F.L.
Wilmoth Monday said that he did not know of nay braceros working at construction jobs in the city, but that if there were they would be taken back to Mexico as soon as possible by the Border Patrol.
Replying to the assertions by Booth, Wilmoth said:
“Union men have been invited to give me information on the score. So far, none has been presented. When it is, we will get on it immediately.”
Poor Mexicans looking for work compared with an invading army and handled with an iron fist. Accusations of taking jobs away from Americans. Lots of racial epithets. This does sound familiar.
Posted by: Mark | September 14, 2010 at 05:21 PM