Would you have signed up to become a bracero?

It might not sound like a dream job. But in 1942, people in Mexico weren’t looking for dream jobs. They were looking for any jobs. They did not have enough food to eat. Laborers were desperate for work. People in the United States had the opposite problem. They had just entered World War II. Many Americans got jobs in factories that made military supplies. Others left to fight in the war. Americans needed laborers to help them with railroads and farms.

American officials said they had a demand for more workers. Mexico had what Americans needed: a labor supply. Thousands of Mexicans raced to sign up for the Bracero Program. People in the United States were eager to hire them.

But the U.S. demand for braceros didn’t last forever. Many other Mexicans crossed the border illegally during the time of the braceros. An American farmer could hire these illegal workers for even less than he could hire a bracero. That put some braceros out of work. Then farmers started using mechanical cotton harvesters. Those changes made the need for braceros dry up.

Life as a bracero was not easy. In many cases, Americans treated braceros badly. They used the braceros for difficult jobs. They paid them less money than they would have paid American workers. But the chance to make money in the United States still benefited Mexican braceros, so much that they decided to leave home for the opportunity.

God wants employers and employees to be treated fairly. He tells people to work with all their hearts as if they are working for God. (Colossians 3:23) But He also hears the cries of employees who are cheated. (James 5:4)