Colonias

Community History

Colonias are not a new phenomenon; they have physically been in existence for many years. In Arizona, some colonia residents can trace ancestors living in the community as far back as the mid-1800s. Many colonias date back to the 1940s and 1950s, with a boost in numbers in the 1960s after the Bracero Program was halted. While the Bracero Program was in existence, between 1942 and 1964, the U.S. government invited an estimated 5 million laborers from Mexico to come into the country to work.

When the program was stopped, in accordance with Public Law 40, braceros were supposed to return to Mexico. In reality, the cessation of the program by congressional declaration did not stop the need for laborers, so many braceros stayed and worked in the United States, albeit illegally. They settled down wherever they could find affordable land to build, and, eventually, their families joined them. Today, by conservative estimates, colonia residents across the four states exceed 1 million, and approximately 65% of them are legal U.S. citizens.

[Page 319]Often, the land where colonias grew up was affordable because it was located in the floodplains and not usable for farming. Land developers seized the opportunity and began to subdivide these plots of land to fill the need for low-income housing. Also known as “irregular settlements” or “quasi-formal homestead” subdivisions, colonias are predominantly found in rural, unincorporated areas, beyond city limits. The fact that this land is outside of taxable servicing perimeters enables land developers to sell it at cheaper rates. Residents, however, face the obvious disadvantage that there may be no water, no sewage or solid waste disposal, no paved roads, and no building codes to ensure safety in the construction of homes.

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