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=Cons to Guest Worker Programs=

Many have argued that America’s guest worker programs exhibit significant flaws , many of which were exposed under the Bracero Program. Legal scholars assert that the original program faced the following problems: migrant workers often experienced abusive working conditions, a lack of regulation made payment withholding and corruption possible and prevalent, an influx of foreign workers consequently lowered wages for domestic farm workers, and guest worker programs failed to adequately incentivize migrants workers to return to their host countries after the termination of their temporary work periods. Scholars also observe these problems in the current system and predict similar difficulties for future programs.

The United States government loosened their control over the Bracero Program after the end of World War II, which allowed American growers to have more influence over the recruitment and employment of guest workers. Experts assert that this deregulation allowed for the corruption and abuse traditionally linked to the Bracero Program. After controls were lifted, guest worker recruitment stations were moved north, closer to American growers. Experts suggest that the inconvenient relocation of recruitment sites from populated cities to relatively less populated areas caused migrants to be more likely to enter the U.S. illegitimately if they were turned away at the recruitment office, attempting to make up for the economic cost of travel. This practice became common, which further depressed wages and complicated the recruitment process by increasing illegal immigration. Deregulation has also been deemed as the root of corruption in the form of withholding payments to migrant workers in false accounts. This coupled with the exploitation exhibited under the Bracero Program deeply conflicted with the burgeoning civil rights movement of the time, and this phenomena is said to have contributed to the notoriety and ultimate termination of the program. . For these reasons, experts suggest significant government involvement in future guest worker programs.

America’s following guest worker program, which involves H2-A and H2-B visas, has been criticized for failing to improve historically exploitative working conditions and not properly addressing the issue of lingering migrants (3). The Berkeley Journal of International Law explained that because guest workers are unable to switch employers and continue to lack social safety nets, workers are observed to be more willing to endure abusive environments and low wages, regardless of the labor rights they are given under the visa programs. Labor rights violations under the current guest worker program include: threatening workers with assault and blacklisting if they report illegal activity to the police, threatening the physical well-being of employees’ families, and requiring inhumane working hours.

The program’s effectiveness has also been a topic of debate. To mitigate inherent wage decreases, America’s guest worker program establishes a price floor for registered guest worker wages. Experts at Harvard Kennedy School are critical of this approach because it disincentivizes the use of legal guest workers, possibly causing growers to employ much cheaper illegal labor.

Overall, the success of the current migrant worker system has yet to be thoroughly evaluated, for evaluating the effects of guest worker programs is speculative, making the success or failure of the program difficult to accurately measure and determine. In an analysis of the Guest worker program, Harvard Kennedy School Review writes, “it is difficult if not impossible to give a concrete estimate of who will participate in this program”.