Abandoning Their Beloved Land – The Politics of Bracero Migration in Mexico

"This is a must-read for anyone interested in the Bracero Program, as García skillfully unearths underutilized sources to reframe the program in ways that show the interplay among federal, state, and local power. By placing the reader in Mexico in the decades prior to the program, García sheds light on the social and political world braceros inhabited and provides readers with a fresh new take. No other book explores the Mexican context of the program with such deep archival research, paying attention to themes and topics that are sorely lacking in the literature on braceros."--Mireya Loza, author of Defiant Braceros: How Migrant Workers Fought for Racial, Sexual, and Political Freedom

"Clearly written and exhaustively researched, Abandoning Their Beloved Land is a fascinating exploration of the power dynamics that shaped Mexican migration during the Bracero Program. Through his analysis of the politics of migration in a region long riven by religious conflict and deep tensions over landownership, García offers an essential contribution to the field of Mexican migration history."--Julia G. Young, author of Mexican Exodus: Emigrants, Exiles, and Refugees of the Cristero War