Guest Worker Program Overview
Current Policy and Issues for Debate
Background The term "guest worker" has typically been applied to foreign temporary low-skilled laborers, often in agriculture. In the past, guest worker programs have been established in the United States to address worker shortages during times of war. During World War I, for example, tens of thousands of Mexican workers performed mainly agricultural labor as part of a temporary worker program. The Bracero program, which began during World War II and lasted until 1964, brought several million Mexican agricultural workers into the United States. At its peak in the late 1950s, the Bracero program employed more than 400,000 Mexican workers…
