Speech #880078606

But there has been little or no change in the status of the relative economic position of the most neglected and most underprivileged group in our economy--our domestic migratory farmworkers. The migratory farmworkers who come in from Mexico have had their condition improved. and I suppose that if one were to make any justification for the continuation of the program. it would rest in the fact that the principal vehicle we have had in the past 10 years for bringing about some improvement in the treatment of American migratory workers has been that we could argue that we ought to treat them at least as well as we treat the Mexicans who are brought in. But we have not been able to close the gap between the treatment of Mexican nationals who are brought in and that accorded American migrants. Mexican nationals are treated better than American migratory workers are treated. But in any case. using this program as a kind of standard. we have had some slight success in improving the conditions of American workers who are employed either on the same crops or in the same general areas.