bracero

[ bruh-sair-oh, brah-; Spanish brah-se-raw ]

noun

, plural bra·ce·ros [br, uh, -, sair, -ohz, brah-, b, r, ah-, se, -, r, aws].

1. a Mexican laborer admitted legally into the U.S. for a short period to perform seasonal, usually agricultural, labor.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bracero¹

First recorded in 1915–20; from Spanish: “laborer,” literally, “one who swings his arms,” equivalent to brazo “arm” + -ero; brace, -ary

Example Sentences

Olvera emigrated from the Mexican state of Guanajuato when she was 14, joining her parents in Salinas, where her father was a bracero.

From Los Angeles Times

That stemmed from the perception among Mexican Americans that “braceros,” a term used to describe temporary agricultural workers from Mexico, were depressing wages for U.S. citizens.

From Salon

Under the program, millions of Mexican laborers, known as braceros, were recruited to work on temporary contracts in various sectors, primarily agriculture, but also in railroad construction and other industries.

From Salon

San Bartolomé began dispatching migrants to the United States in the 1950s, the height of a joint government program that sent millions of Mexicans to California and elsewhere to work as farmhands known as braceros.

From Los Angeles Times

She raised her children and a grandson whose mother died shortly after giving birth while her husband, José — who went by Pepe — worked in the fields and as a bracero in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times