Migratory Agricultural Workers

Migratory agricultural workers, or migrant workers, are individuals who migrate seasonally/temporarily for work. Migrant workers working in the US can be migrant, seasonal, year-round, or guest program workers, who go through the federal H-2A program. Once the season is over, then they head back to their country of origin. In 2021, an estimated 258,000 H-2A migrant workers were granted temporary work in the US; this is an increase from 50,000 in 2007. Although there has been a recent increase, migrant workers are not a new thing. The WW2 labor shortage catapulted the demand for agricultural workers. Over time, they were recruited through federal programs like The Bracero Program (1940s-60s), the British West Indies Temporary Alien Labor Program (1940s), and then the H-2A Temporary Guest Program (1950s).

Migratory Agricultural workers are in farms/fields, factories, orchards/plant nurseries, and seafood packing plants all throughout the country. A huge portion of the food that makes it on our tables comes from the hard work of migrant farm workers. Migrant workers make-up about 73% of agricultural workers making them essential workers who fuel the food industry. Certain states have a more focused food production output like poultry in Alabama, dairy in Wisconsin, and orchards in Oregon. “Every state is involved in food production, but California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, and Minnesota make up more than one-third of total U.S. agricultural-output value.”

Family History

Now to add a personal touch to this blog: I am a daughter of Mexican immigrants. I come from a family of migrant workers. When my dad came to the US, he and his family worked the blueberry, sweet potato, and tobacco fields of North Carolina. To this day, his mother (my abuela) still works in the fields seasonally. Not because she has to anymore, but because it is familiar.

My mom and her family were mostly based in Florida picking oranges but also migrated to NC for blueberries/tobacco, and Missouri for apples.

_{My mom (in the yellow jacket) with her family}

_{Mi tia}

_{Mi abuelito Pepe}

With calloused hands and tired bodies, they worked long, labor-intensive hours out in the fields. They did the work that not many people want, for a better opportunity for their family. Their hard work lives on in their future generations.

The Migrant experience is unique to this mobile population. They face horrible working & living conditions, low wages, limited transportation, hostile farmers, and little to no healthcare access. Working out in the sun for long hours, doing repetitive motions, lifting heavy objects puts them at high-risk for work-related injuries. Abundant sun exposure increases their chance of skin cancer; Exposure to pesticides on crops puts them at risk for toxicity; warm temperatures increases risk for dehydration. More recently, COVID-19 disproportionately affects migrant workers who live in close quarters and migration camps with poor sanitation. Also, wildfires is an added work risk for farm workers in California & Oregon. When it comes to healthcare access, H-2A workers are not eligible for insurance like Medicaid but their employers can, though not required to, provide insurance. Typically they do not because of their temporary status. Undocumented migrant workers are not eligible for Medicaid at all and don’t make enough to purchase private insurance. Therefore, migratory populations rely on free & community clinics to provide health care services. How is it that one of America’s essential worker groups cannot access basic human rights like health care??

During my post-bacc years, I volunteered with a mobile clinic that brought these healthcare services right into the migration camps. I saw a lot of work-related injuries and heard so often “I can’t take a day off to rest from this injury, I need to work for my family.” Often times, these migrant farmworkers already had a primary care provider back in their home country and knew how to take care of their overall health; the issue was accessing health care here in the US. If they were going to be in the US for months, and ran out of their medications, where would they get it from? Where could they go buy a BP cuff? Who could drive them to their appointments? Who could help them navigate an unfamiliar healthcare system? This group brought a lot of unique challenges that not many other vulnerable populations face. It is not an easy feat to tackle, so I am thankful for the many organizations & non-profits that are working to help breakdown some of these barriers. I am also thankful for the volunteers, community health workers, and health care professionals who dedicate their time to work with migrant worker populations.