Cesar Chávez stood for nonviolence, labor rights, and justice. But there’s a part of his story that many people don’t know. In the early years of his work, Chávez opposed undocumented immigrants. He believed they hurt the union’s ability to organize. This belief shaped many of his actions and left a mixed legacy that still matters today.

Chávez started the United Farm Workers Union, abbreviated as UFW in the 1960s. At the time, farmworkers were paid low wages and worked in unsafe conditions. Many of them were Mexican Americans and immigrants. Chávez believed that organizing these workers into a union was the only way to change their situation. But he also believed that undocumented immigrants made things harder. Growers could hire them to break strikes or replace union workers. In 1974, Chávez told the press that undocumented immigrants were “used to break our strikes” and that their presence “destroys our ability to build a union” (Bobadilla).

The UFW even took steps to stop undocumented workers from joining the workforce. Some union members helped immigration officers track them down. Others patrolled the border to stop people from crossing. These actions came from Chávez’s belief that the farmworker movement could not succeed if growers could replace striking workers with people who had no legal rights.

Later in his life, Chávez’s views shifted. By the 1980s, many more undocumented immigrants had become part of the union. Many Chicano activists also called on Chávez to support immigrant rights. Over time, he did. In 1986, he supported the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which gave legal status to many undocumented farmworkers (Mills). He also spoke more about protecting all farm workers, not just those with papers. Still, he never gave a clear apology for his earlier problematic stance.

This part of Chávez’s history is important. It shows that even leaders with strong values can make choices that hurt others. Chávez believed he was protecting and doing what was best for the union. But in doing so, he sometimes harmed people who shared the same struggles as union members. This story shows the tension between labor rights and immigration, a problem that still exists today.

Chávez remains a big figure in Hispanic American history. He helped farm workers fight for dignity and respect.  However, his actions toward undocumented immigrants remind us that leaders are human. They make decisions based on their time and knowledge. By looking at the full story, we learn more than we would from praise alone. We learn to think clearly, ask hard questions, and see history for what it is.