bracero

American  

[bruh-sair-oh, brah-, brah-se-raw] / brəˈsɛər oʊ, brɑ-, brɑˈsɛ rɔ /

noun

plural

braceros

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

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Etymology

Origin of bracero

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

Explanation

From the 1940s to the 1960s, temporary Mexican workers in the United States were called braceros. An official agreement between the countries included a minimum wage and workplace protections for the braceros. In Spanish, bracero means "one who works with his arms." These laborers filled an acute need for able-bodied farm workers in the U.S. during and after World War II. 1942's Mexican Farm Labor Agreement guaranteed room and board for braceros who moved temporarily to the U.S., as well as minimum pay of 30 cents per hour. The program was renewed several times but eventually became controversial as American workers came to view it as a threat to their employment.

Example Sentences

Her father, a butcher by trade, emigrated and found work as a bracero picking crops in fields up and down the West Coast.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2025

Some previously undocumented migrants acquired work contracts through the bracero program, which allowed for Mexican citizens to work legally in the U.S. between 1942 and 1964.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2024

The same article recounts a group of migrants promising to return, some as legal bracero program workers and others as unauthorized workers, indicating that this “human misery” had likely accomplished nothing.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2024

As early as the 1940s, Oaxacan immigrants came to the U.S. in search of better wages and jobs, working in agriculture through an established bracero program of seasonal migrant workers.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2022

“It’s bad manners. He’s Mr. Diaz, the contratista. He runs the bracero camp for Sheehey Berry Farms. The man with him is one of the braceros.”

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez