Join Your Fellow San Diego-area alumni, parents and friends at an afternoon with
Brown Associate Professor of American Civilization
Matthew Garcia
For a speaking program on…
Guest Workers, Free Trade and the
Making of US Immigration Policy
Saturday, January 12, 2008
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Lecture followed by Q & A and refreshments
Where: At the home of William ’82 and Kay ’83 Gurtin
6977 Las Colinas, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067 map
RSVP: By 1/9/08 to Jenny Yoo ’03 at jenny.yoo@pillsburylaw.com or at 619-544-3192
Given that this event is in a private home, RSVPs are strongly encouraged so that appropriate plans
for seating and refreshments can be made.
Brown Associate Professor Matthew Garcia
Amid the debates about homeland security and the war in Iraq, U.S. lawmakers have discussed the potential for bi-partisan agreement on new U.S. immigration legislation. These discussions reflect, in part, the dependence of the U.S. economy on Mexican labor, a condition that is especially true in the Southwest. President George W. Bush frequently reminds us that, “people are coming to our country to do jobs that Americans won’t do, to be able to feed their families.” Former Mexican President Vicente Fox added to this chorus, albeit in controversial terms, when he said in 2005: “There’s no doubt that Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.” Both Presidents have made substantial efforts to articulate a “solution” to the “problem” of immigration that involves a new guest worker program by which Mexican workers would come to the United States temporarily to do work “that Americans won’t do,” and return to Mexico after a short stay. Such a program existed from 1942-1964, known then as the “Bracero Program.” Professor Matthew Garcia of Brown University has written on this program and has continued to do research on this topic. On January 12th, Professor Garcia will discuss this history and reflect on the proposals for a new guest worker program in the context of free trade and debates about immigration reform. In this presentation he will invite members of the Brown University alumni community to discuss the issues of immigration and U.S.-Mexican relations crucial to California and the Southwest.
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