1970

In 1942 a program calling for Mexican labor force in the US was created. This program, called Bracero Program, “invited” Mexican citizens to work seasonally in the fields. In order for Mexicans to get approved and be able to cross the border, the inspection consisted in a physical examination looking for disease and working hands. After the Bracero Program ended, the notions of illegality and “anchor baby” narratives started propagating in the US imaginary. The US, at this time, was not only worried in regards to who can cross the border, but as who is reproducing inside its territory. In the decades of the 70’s and 80’s Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Indigenous women in the US were sterilized without consent. The reproduction control policies in the name of “public health concerns” were directly associated to racism and immigration. In this sense, we can see how the border from 1848 did not stopped at the fence, but it was spread to the hospitals inside the US.

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