The Trump Administration’s recent move to reduce wages for guest workers on farms has sparked criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, showing a rare moment of unity between typically opposing groups like the United Farm Workers and the Heritage Foundation.
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The demographic of those working in America’s agricultural sector is predominantly international, with many holding H-2A visas. The administration has facilitated the hiring of these workers by making the process less costly for farmers, a move that may result in fewer opportunities and lower wages for U.S.-based farm workers. As Frank Morris from KCUR reports, this decision has met with widespread disapproval.
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FRANK MORRIS: In Belleville, Kansas, on a large farm, three Mexican nationals are busy preparing equipment for the upcoming planting season.
THAYNE LARSON: Yeah, you didn’t see one phone in anybody’s hand trying – you know, looking at the social media or…
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LARSON: That’s what you get, just work, work, work.
MORRIS: Thayne Larson, who employs these workers through the H-2A visa program, considers them vital, highlighting the lack of local interest in such demanding jobs.
LARSON: Yeah, it’s a frustrating part and why we’ve had to try and really figure out the H-2A program, ’cause you’re not replacing, you know, workers here. They’re just filling a void that you can’t do. If you’re going to be in this business, you got to find people.
MORRIS: The challenge of finding farm labor in rural areas is significant, leading to a surge in the H-2A program, which has grown from 50,000 workers two decades ago to almost 400,000 last year, as per USDA data. This expansion has attracted workers like Jose Reyes, who has been a regular on Larson’s farm for 15 years.
JOSE REYES: Yeah, a lot opportunities coming to work here legal and send some money to Mexico, support my family.
MORRIS: Despite having potential housing for more workers, Larson finds the H-2A system too complex and costly, with labor expenses rising to about $30 per hour. Farmers argue that increased wages are reflected in higher grocery prices and impact the competitiveness of domestic produce. The Labor Department’s recent change in wage calculation aims to reduce these costs, though it cuts worker pay.
LARSON: Absolutely, it needed to be happen, ’cause you could not afford to pay.
MORRIS: The new regulation also allows for charges on previously free housing, effectively reducing pay by $5 an hour for some. John Miano from the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform criticizes this as a subsidy that undercuts American workers.
JOHN MIANO: It provides a subsidy for employers to bypass the free market. I can go in and go for a massive pool of cheaper foreign labor that undermines Americans.
MORRIS: Miano, who supports stricter immigration limits, finds himself in agreement with United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, who argues that reduced wages hurt all farm workers.
TERESA ROMERO: How can you have America first and have this population that worked so hard, now pay them less and being replaced by people that are going to be here for a few months and go back home?
MORRIS: The farm workers union has filed a lawsuit against the wage cuts, claiming they unlawfully suppressed wages for domestic farm workers, including citizens and undocumented individuals. Romero criticizes the administration for its dual approach of deportations and wage reductions.
ROMERO: What he’s doing, you know, the deportations and the wage cuts, are a one and two punch. You know, keep workers afraid as you lower their wages.
MORRIS: While both the farm workers union and immigration hardliners oppose the administration’s changes to the H-2A program, there is bipartisan support in Congress for expanding it, with proposals to extend visa durations and moderate wage growth. For NPR News, I’m Frank Morris.
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