Bracero Program

The Bracero Program was a U.S.–Mexico agreement that brought Mexican workers to temporary agricultural and railroad jobs from 1942 to 1964.

Bracero Agreement: A bilateral agreement that established temporary Mexican labor recruitment in the United States during World War II. Its terms created the program’s framework for recruitment, contracts, and worker protections.
Undocumented immigration to the United States: Migration to the United States without current legal authorization to enter or remain. The end of contracts and persistent labor demand helped expand unauthorized migration from Mexico.
Bracero workers: Mexican nationals recruited for temporary agricultural and railroad employment in the United States under the Bracero Program. Their varied experiences reveal the gap between contractual promises and conditions on the job.
World War II: A global war fought from 1939 to 1945 between the Allied and Axis powers. Wartime labor shortages prompted the United States and Mexico to negotiate the initial agreement.
Bracero Justice Movement: A movement seeking repayment of wage deductions withheld from Mexican workers under the Bracero Program. Its claims center on deductions that many workers say were never returned.
Temporary labor migration: Movement across borders for work intended to last a limited period. The program organized migration around contracts that formally required workers to return to Mexico.
United Farm Workers: A labor union founded in 1962 to organize agricultural workers, especially in California. Former braceros and their families were part of the labor communities later organized by the union.
El Paso labor strike of 1966: A strike by Mexican agricultural workers in El Paso, Texas, over wages and working conditions. It showed how labor activism continued among Mexican farmworkers after the program ended.
Mexican Revolution: An armed conflict and political transformation in Mexico that began in 1910. Its upheaval contributed to earlier Mexican migration that preceded formal U.S. labor recruitment.
Guest worker debate: Public and political debate over temporary employment programs for foreign workers. Bracero history informs arguments about whether temporary labor systems can prevent exploitation.

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