Mexican workers arrive 1942; Wikipedia Commons

Mexican workers entering U.S. in 1942; Wikipedia Commons

In early 1942, due to an insufficient labor force, the USA was experiencing a shortage of food and other goods. As a temporary solution, the U.S. and Mexico devised an agreement to import Mexican laborers into the USA through the Bracero program  (someone who works using his arms).

Throughout WWII, train loads of Mexican workers streamed into the U.S. to work on farms and railroads. Although the initial Bracero agreement expired  in 1947, the program was continued in agriculture under a variety of laws and agreements between the U.S. and Mexico until its formal end in 1964.