Catherwood LibraryILR School

The United States’ agricultural industry is dependent on thousands of domestic migrant workers, and these workers have expressed concerns about losing their jobs after President-elect Trump stated that he would conduct mass deportations. Many farms are increasingly seeking out H2-A workers instead of domestic workers. H2-A workers are foreign workers who temporarily move to the United States to work in the agricultural industry. Farms claimed that H2-A workers did not take as much time off because they did not have family in the country, while domestic workers have family commitments that cause them to take days off. Domestic workers have stated that farms have begun to cut their hours and are working fewer days each week, and some farms have cut domestic laborers altogether, and are relying on H2-A workers instead. Labor unions and various organizations have expressed concerns about the H2-A program, stating that farms can exploit foreign workers as they cannot unionize.