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In an old black and white photograph, several dozen Mexican men are standing together lined up in a group outside a train station. The men are wearing hats  and simple clothing and carrying suitcases. The train station is a small wooden building with a sign reading "HOOD RIVER," and train tracks are in the background. Several white men are standing around, one lounging on a grassy hill overlooking the train tracks.
Courtesy of Oregon Digital / Braceros in Oregon Photograph Collection, Oregon State University

‘The Evergreen’: The Mexican braceros who saved Northwest agriculture during World War II

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Facing a dire agricultural labor shortage during World War II, the United States made an agreement with Mexico: a government-sponsored program to bring Mexican workers to the U.S. on temporary labor contracts to help farms, as well as railroad companies, across the country. Over 15,000 of these workers came to Oregon, under what became known as the Bracero Program.