bracero

American  

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

noun

• braceros
  plural

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• braceros
  plural

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

See Examples For:

bracero braceros

Limón’s grandfather picked strawberries in Oxnard after coming to the U.S. through the state’s bracero program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2026

The Mexican government agreed to pay up to $3,800 to each surviving bracero who lived in the U.S., but Alvarado never applied.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2025

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 ● Nov. 5, 2024

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

I recalled the bracero who everyone thought had tuberculosis.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

In the 2000s, braceros brought a class-action lawsuit after discovering that the U.S. had withheld 10% of their earnings each year and handed the money to Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2025

According to statistics from the University of Colorado, the number of braceros in the United States jumped by more than 100% from 1952 to 1956, rising to 445,000.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024

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 ● Mar. 26, 2024

The book also highlights the humiliating medical exams that aspiring braceros had to go through.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2022

The peak of the strawberry season was over and the last few days the workers, most of them braceros, were not picking as many boxes as they had during the months of June and July.

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