
- 42 percent of farm workers in the US are undocumented immigrants.
- 75 percent. surveyed Americans recognized, that illegal immigrants fill positions, which they do not want US citizens.
- In North Carolina on 6500 advertisements for seasonal work on harvest only 265 Americans have applied, of of which only 7 died in work until the end of the season.
- In California, where there is the peak season of citrus, there is a lack of workers to harvest the fruit. Migrants are hiding before operation deportation.
The started the deportation operation in the US
In introducing this text I want to emphasize, that it is not on an attempt to assess a complicated and difficult topic, what is migration policy, a only want to expose one of the multiple aspects of migrant deportation and its impact on the functioning of American farms .
“The largest in history mass deportation operation is in touch” -. announced by representatives of the new White House just a few days after Donald Trump was sworn in as 47th president. President of the US. The problem of the huge number of immigrants, staying in the United States illegally (it is estimated that there are about. 11 million people, mostly originating from Mexico), was one of the hot threads of Trump’s election campaign. The current president of the US pointed first to the issue of crime among immigrants and the taking jobs from American citizens.
In the first days of the new president of the US the media has received information about the arrest of over thousand undocumented immigrants and the starting the deportation of a large group of people. This is not a new action – deportations were also conducted during the office of previous presidents. I can in this place recall my own experiences of being in the United States in 2023 year, when the president was Joe Biden – patrols of employees of United States (ICE) frequently circulated around farms. The farmer, for whom I worked, absolutely asked, that I should
at all the time have the appropriate documents, which would allow “border guards” to verify, that I was in the US legally
– in an other case I could have a unpleasant situation.
Donald Trump announces however, that never before deportations
have been held on such scale. The Customs and Immigration Office of the United States has worked in last day with exceptional .intensity.
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American agriculture migrants stands
Actions of new administration have caused in States some confusion. Donald Trump’s supporters are joying the “cleanup”, but his opponents, a particularly families of immigrants, are raising the larum. Without going into the evaluation of the decisions of the new president – very interesting, how the new immigration policy will affect agriculture in the United States. Fact is because, that migrants form a significant subset of physical workers in primary states, but less well-paid occupations – as an example could be construction, maintenance cleaning or agriculture. Could it become that “redundant jobs” in these industries Americans usually… don’t want it?
Let’s look at the garbage data numbers. Agriculture is a key sector of employment for immigrants, especially undocumented. According to the report “Farm Labor” of the Department of Agriculture of the United States (USDA), a some 42 proc. agricultural workers are undocumented immigrants, 19 proc. are immigrants in the country legally, a 7 proc. are persons born outside the United States, but with American citizenship. The remaining 32 proc. employees in agriculture are Americans. Total that is of all employed in agriculture in the US as 61 proc. people are immigrants without U.S. citizenship with different legal statuses (data for years 2020-2022). As reported by the New American Economy – in state California, a leading in the US for agricultural production, immigrants account for as much as 79 percent. employees (data for 2019 year).
As shows statistics, the average employee in the United States is a married, 41-year-old man, Latino. It was on Latinos in the middle age that fell fear after the first actions of the new president. As the media shows, the sites of buildings and fields have been deserted. In California,Where the peak of the citrus season, there is a shortage of workers to harvest the fruit. Those, who have not been retained, are hiding before ICE and have not appeared in work.
The question remains – why work in agriculture is so strongly “bet on” by foreigners, especially undocumented? Do Mexicans and other Latinos take places of work for Americans, and maybe take positions, which no one other wants? It’s hard to ambiguously answer. In the US for long there has been talk of no workers in farms, and the “gaps” those for years have been filled by immigrants. Why? Because perhaps because they don’t know the language very well, traveling to the US illegally, agree to lower paying jobs (as reports The Baker Institute for Public Policy -. in historical history of undocumented immigrants earned by 3 to
24 proc. less, than others in the same positions) in difficult conditions.
It appears that citizens of the
United States are not willing to take hard work on farms. It is worth quoting here a study by
the Institute New American Economy, conducted in 2011 year, when the country was recovering from recession. In North Carolina on 6500 announcements for seasonal work on harvest only 265 American citizens applied, of of which only 7 people did in work until the end of the season. This was recognized by the Americans themselves: in a study of 2024 years, a survey of 75 proc. researchers recognized, that illegal immigrants fill positions, which they don’t want US citizens.
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Migrant Workers in US: my observations
As mentioned above, in 2023 year. I stayed on farm in the United States, a specifically in Texas. Because in this state there is the US border with Mexico, migrants live there a whole lots. The fact is, that Texas and Mexico have a lot in common, in that history (Texas was at one time part of Mexico); culturally we also find a commondenominators, however by how much on many planes two nations live between them in harmony, a resident of Mexican descent in the second or third generation are already among Texans “their own,”, there are still some “hotspots.”
There are first and foremost new migrants from Mexico. In my conversations with Texans I have heard arguments, that a large part of migrant Mexicans do not assimilate they, they are locked in enclosures, does not even show a willingness to learn the English language, no and most importantly – many of these are in the States illegally. Of course – at least part of these opinions is justified.
From the other side , however, I received the impression, that despite some reluctance, and sometimes even disdain – Texans would find it difficult to live without working Mexican immigrants. It was the Latinos who worked hard in 40-degree heat and dust, driving combines, repair machines in workshops, and their wives and daughters took care of children in preschools. I have personally acquainted a young child, who speak better in Spanish than in English from the long
time he spends with her Mexican nanny. American workers have often given the understanding, that they are
smarter and better. Fact – I wrote already sometimes, that the Texans, whom I meet, arepeopleveryworking,butintheirthoughtstheyareon”higher issues”,anot”dirtywork”.I stressonly,however,thatthesearemypersonalandtrivialobservations.
WhatfurtherwithworkonAmericanfarms?IfthedonationsfromtheAmericanmediaandsocialmediaarenot”blown”anddeportationsactuallytakethepromisedinthecampaignsize,thisoritwillendwiththetriumphofDonaldTrump’spolicyandthemakingthejobintheUS”greatagain”,oraspectacularfailure.Onethereissure-Americanagriculturehasbeforeitsnotanychallenge.Butwhyisnotonandthisnewchallengeisourprofession?