Under provisions of the Special Agricultural Workers program (SAWS) of the Immigration and Control Act of 1988, anyone who could prove that he or she had done at least 90 days of farm work between May 1985 and May 1986 could gain legal status. Two programs were established. One, beginning May 5, 1987 and ending May 4, 1988, was for people able to prove continuous residence since January 1, 1982. Most migrants could not qualify under that arrangement. The other program – the SAW program – beginning June 1, 1987, and ending November 30, 1988, was for people who had been coming north to work in perishable crops over the years but lacked continuous residence in the United States. To take advantage of the SAW program thousands of applicants stacked up at the border entry point near the Calexico, California Customs House, each one making a desperate, last ditch effort to squeeze into the United States under a program some called “super-amnesty” for agriculture. After attracting little interest in 1987, the SAW program picked up steam in 1988. Eventually over 600,000 SAW applicants were admitted to the United States for processing, with half of them coming into California. I made these portraits of SAW applications over several weeks in five locations: 1) Behind the Customs House, about ten feet from the chain link fence separating the United States from Mexico; 2) In the Mexicali immigration tunnel, where hundreds of people packed in tight and on the nearby streets, where 20,000 to 22,000 SAW applicants were stranded; 3 ) Along the border, in Chapultapec Park, about five blocks east of the port of entry; 4) In a migrant help station at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Cathedral, where migrants were treated to meals and fresh fruit, tea, milk-rice drinks dipped out of huge glass containers; and 5) Inside the Calexico Customs House, where a giant bottleneck had developed as an overworked staff struggled to process 450 to 750 applicants per day. To complete their registration and entry, each SAW applicant had to fill out forms at a cost of $20, and a $185 INS registration fee. On the Mexican side of the border a thriving network of rodinos (immigration attorneys), coyotes (paid border crossing guides or smugglers), and QDEs (qualified designated entities chosen by the INS, like the Catholic Church and ALFA (Alien Legalization for Agriculture) assisted the new arrivals with their applications.
