WW2 Migrant Worker Program Studied 75 Years Later Ray Bogan - Fox News
go to original September 25, 2017

World War 2-era migrant worker program could teach lessons for today's immigration debate, 75 years later (Fox News)

The heated immigration debate in Washington is shining a spotlight on a World War II-era agreement that allowed millions of Mexican immigrants to work in the U.S. as guest workers.

The Bracero Program grew out of a series of bilateral agreements between Mexico and the United States that allowed Mexicans to come to the U.S. to work from 1942 through 1964 under short-term, agricultural labor contracts. “Bracero” loosely translates to “manual laborer.”

The program was debated during a summit Friday and Saturday at the University of Texas at El Paso, hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.



The first men crossed the border 75 years ago this September. That’s when braceros started what they said was difficult but worthwhile work for farmers.

One historian has said the braceros program was beneficial to many Americans -- but also started the pattern of bringing temporary workers into the U.S. and pushing them out when they’re done. Some braceros also became full-time residents and citizens of the U.S., starting families that are now multiple generations deep.

The fate of other programs that currently allow migrants to stay in the U.S., like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, remains up in the air.

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