Farmworker Stories

FROM DOCUMENTED

About 90% of undocumented farmworkers report that family separation is their top concern amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. So says a new survey carried out by the UFW Foundation, which asked 2,250 people, mostly undocumented, about how ICE raids are directly impacting them.

The report was unveiled yesterday to chants of “¡Sí, se puede!” in a conference room at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, where report author Jonathan Angulo revealed what he said was “first-of-its-kind” data documenting the “fears, hopes, and aspirations” of farmworkers across the United States.

Yazmin Alvarado, one of the survey respondents, took to the podium to share her story as a line of other farmworkers in matching red T-shirts gathered to stand behind her.  

“I have worked in agriculture for nearly 20 years and have lived in the United States for more than 20 years,” she said in Spanish, adding that she is also a DACA recipient, her husband is undocumented and she has two daughters who are U.S. citizens. 

“The other day it was our daughter's 11th birthday, and we couldn't celebrate out of fear of going out,” she said. “Before the raids started, I used to go out to the library and to the park to go on walks. We only go out when it's absolutely necessary.”

Workers from 16 states, the majority in California, submitted responses to the survey, which was carried out through the UFW Foundation’s text messaging program over two weeks in June and July. 

It found that many farm workers, like Yazmin, have lived in the U.S. for a decade — many, even longer; have extensive, specialized experience working in agriculture; and are afraid of detention, deportation and family separation. 

Here are some other key findings from the report:

📈92% of respondents said that immigration raids and deportations have impacted them at work, and 90% said they worry about being separated from loved ones.

🕒80% of respondents have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, 41% for more than 20 years.

🏬88% said they fear detention and deportation, which in turn is impacting many respondents’ decisions around shopping, seeking medical care and using social media.

✈️87% said that if Congress approved a pathway to legal status, the first thing they would do is visit loved ones in their countries of origin — something they may have been unable to do for years. 

Erica Lomeli Corcoran, the CEO of UFW Foundation, said that the findings in the report have already been put to use in a lawsuit that the Foundation, United Farm Workers and other plaintiffs filed against the Department of Labor last year in response to a new rule that will allegedly slash workers’ wages. 

For Yazmin, she expressed hope that the survey would help foster understanding.

“I hope that by listening to my story, you can understand a little bit of what farmworkers are going through — the fear, the uncertainty, and what we're going through every day,” she said. “It’s just one of the many stories that farm workers are living, what we're experiencing outside in the fields, and I thank you for listening.”