At EFI, we believe a resilient food supply chain starts with the safety and dignity of workers. We work with employers to build stronger workforces and better jobs, but true workforce stability in agriculture requires addressing immigration policy. Understanding how those policies impact the workers on the front lines is critical for the entire sector.
Last summer, more than 2,200 undocumented farmworkers were surveyed by the UFW Foundation just months after Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection increased the scale and force of immigration raids in farmworker communities. In a new report, survey respondents offer a crucial look at how heightened scrutiny affects their daily lives, their work and the future of the food system.
Background & Context
Comprehensive immigration reform has not been enacted since 1986, when President Reagan signed legislation providing legal status to nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants, including 1.1 million farmworkers. Over the past 40 years, workers have stayed in the country to remain with their families and have built lives as long-term employees and community members.
Survey Findings
Increased enforcement tactics have led to alarm among workers, their families and communities, with 88% of respondents expressing worry about detention and deportation. In addition, 61% have shopped less and 29% have not sought medical attention.
Farmworkers are a stable workforce, with 87% of survey respondents having worked as a farmworker for 10 or more years and 65% working 10 or more months of the year. They say they are likely to remain as farmworkers for the next 5 years if: they are protected from deportation and detention (76%); they earn a living wage (66%); they have benefits such as health coverage (50%).
Economic Impact
Farmworkers are drivers of rural economies and committed community members. According to a 2021 report by the Center for American Progress, immigration reform for all or some undocumented immigrants would generate at least $900 billion in economic activity.
Survey respondents underscored this report by sharing some of the immediate actions they would take if an immigration reform law were put in place:
- 87% would travel to visit a family member
- 34% would attend and organize their children’s activities
- 12% would involve themselves more with religious institutions such as their churches
- 11% would go on vacation
- 8% would open a bank account
As we work together to create better jobs in agriculture and prepare the future workforce needed to navigate the complex challenges facing the food system, we must focus on the dignity of workers and the stability of the workforce overall.
Written by:
LeAnne Ruzzamenti, Director of Marketing & Communications, EFI
Related Resource: Toolkit for Immigrant Farmworkers