Results: Immigrants and Migrant Farm Workers & the North American Economy

There are 2.5 million farmworkers in the US one in 10 farmworkers is on a H-2A Seasonal Agricultural Visa, and 50% of migrant agricultural workers in the country are undocumented. Over the past few years, roughly 70% have been Mexican, 24% native-born US citizens, and 6% Central American. In Canada there are 64,660 temporary foreign workers. The majority work on farms and a small percentage work on ranches with livestock. They are referred to as "unskilled", yet in actual fact they are keenly honed skills. Have you ever picked agricultural crops?

Farmworkers are essential workers - and most are immigrants. Immigrant farmworkers make up an estimated 73% of agriculture workers in the United States. Farm labor is absolutely essential work that puts food on our tables across the country, powers the economy and supports our communities, from dairy farms in Wisconsin to strawberry fields in Florida and apple orchards in Washington. All together, food and agriculture sector is a $1.053 trillion industry. Were you aware If farmers lost their foreign-born workers...agricultural output would fall by $30 to $60 billion. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation?

Legalizing the undocumented workforce is an economic and moral imperative Undocumented farm workers make up approximately 50% of the farm labor workforce. Without their hard work, millions of pounds of food would otherwise go unharvested. While these workers pay taxes and contribute to the economy, they are not protected by U.S. labor laws, and they live every day under the threat of arrest and family separation – all while working in extremely difficult conditions.The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates that, in total, U.S. agriculture needs 1.5 to 2 million hired workers each year. Did you know Farmers have been struggling to fill these positions; in 2019, 56% of California farmers reported being unable to find all the workers they needed over the last five years; According to the California Farm Bureau Federation?

The temporary H-2A visa program is important, but it is not enough! The H-2A Temporary Agricultural Worker Program is the primary way in which immigrant workers can legally perform short-term farm labor in the U.S. U.S. farmers can sponsor workers for a temporary employment visa if sufficient numbers of domestic workers are not available. In 2019, about 258,000 immigrant workers were granted temporary H-2A visas, up from 48,000 positions certified in 2005, but less than 4% of the total number of workers that are needed for food production. Were you aware that Florida, Georgia, Washington, California and North Carolina were the top five states where the most H-2A workers were employed?

Canadians and Americans would benefit enormously from a stable agricultural workforce. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that providing legal status to current undocumented workers would have a net positive effect on the federal budget, increasing tax revenues. The CBO has also found that legalizing the undocumented population would boost economic output and increase employment for U.S.-born workers. Additionally, stabilizing the workforce would help U.S. farmers stay open for business, keepings jobs available for U.S. workers and pushing back on increasing food and production costs driven by the shortages. Congress should allow undocumented farmworkers who have been present in the U.S. to adjust to a legal status. This would allow farmers to maintain their current workforce legally, while also allowing undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows, earn a fair wage, be better protected from exploitation and abuse, and fully participate in the communities they have called home for years. Did you know an estimated 73% of agriculture workers today were born outside of the United States According to the Economic Research Service - USDA?