‘Essential’ label for farmworkers

Many of them in U.S. illegally

LOS ANGELES — Like legions of immigrant farmworkers, Nancy Silva for years has done the grueling work of picking fresh fruit that Americans savor, all while afraid that one day she could lose her livelihood because she is in the country illegally.

But the widening coronavirus pandemic has brought an unusual kind of recognition: Her job as a field worker has been deemed by the federal government as “essential” to the country.

Silva, who has spent much of her life in the United States evading law enforcement, now carries a letter from her employer in her wallet, declaring that the Department of Homeland Security considers her “critical to the food supply chain.”

“It’s like suddenly they realized we are here contributing,” said Silva, a 43-year-old immigrant from Mexico who has been working in the clementine groves south of Bakersfield, Calif.

It is an open secret that the vast majority of people who harvest America’s food are immigrants in the country illegally, mainly from Mexico, many of them decadeslong residents of the United States. Often the parents of American-born children, they have lived for years with the cloud of deportation hanging over their households.

SENSE OF SECURITY

The “essential work” letters that many now carry are not a free pass from immigration authorities, who could still deport Silva and other field workers at any time.

But local law enforcement authorities said the letters might give immigrant workers a sense of security that they will not be arrested for violating stay-at-home orders.

“If you have people who perceive that they may be stopped and questioned or deported because of their status, under these circumstances, having that letter makes them feel comfortable,” said Eric Buschow, a captain with the sheriff’s office in Ventura County, where thousands of farmworkers labor in strawberry, lemon and avocado operations. “They can go to work. And their work is essential now.”

The pandemic has also put many of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operations on hold. On March 18, the agency said it would “temporarily adjust its enforcement posture” to focus not on ordinary immigrants in the country illegally, but on those who pose a public safety or criminal threat.

The agency said it would not carry out enforcement actions near health care facilities “except in the most extraordinary of circumstances” and would instead focus its efforts on human trafficking, gangs and drug enforcement.

“Those of us without papers live in fear that immigration will pick us up,” Silva said. “Now we are feeling more relaxed.”

Across the country, farmworkers have been struggling to understand what the coronavirus outbreak will mean for their safety and livelihoods. Even if they face a lower risk of deportation, many worry that the close working conditions in fields and packing facilities put them at risk for contracting the virus, and some warehouse workers are seeing their hours cut as employers adjust to the shifting market.

For many workers, the fact that they are now considered both illegal and essential is an irony that is not lost on them, nor is it for employers who have long had to navigate a legal thicket to maintain a workforce in the fields.

“It’s sad that it takes a health crisis like this to highlight the farmworkers’ importance,” said Hector Lujan, chief executive of Reiter Brothers, a large familyowned berry grower based in Oxnard, Calif., that also has operations in Florida and the Pacific Northwest.

Lujan, whose company employs thousands of field workers, described them as unsung heroes for guaranteeing that Americans have food security.

“Maybe one of the benefits of this crisis is that they are recognized and come out of the shadows,” said Lujan, whose company has been lobbying Congress to pass a bill that would legalize immigrant farmworkers.

SHORTAGE OF WORKERS

About half of all crop hands in the United States, more than 1 million, are in the country illegally, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Growers and labor contractors estimate that the share is closer to 75%.

Despite increased mechanization, the agriculture sector has continued to struggle with a dearth of labor because many fruits and vegetables must be harvested by hand to avoid bruising.

In a 2017 survey of farmers by the California Farm Bureau, 55% reported labor shortages, and the figure was nearly 70% for those who depend on seasonal workers. Wage increases in recent years have not compensated for the shortfall, growers said.

Strawberry operations in California, apple orchards in Michigan and dairy farms in New York and Idaho are wrestling with a shrinking, aging workforce, a crackdown at the border, and the failure of Congress to agree on an immigration overhaul that could provide a steady source of labor. A surge in deportations and the voluntary return of many Mexicans to their home country have aggravated the shortage.

As a result, growers increasingly have turned to a seasonal guest-worker program, officially known as the H-2A program, to fill gaps in their labor supply. The number of workers on the visa rocketed to 257,667 in fiscal 2019, compared with 48,336 workers in fiscal 2005.

Growers panicked after the State Department earlier this month paused all visa processing in Mexico during the public health emergency. In response to an outcry, the department announced March 26 that it would waive in-person interviews, enabling most applications to be vetted in time for the peak harvest.

American agriculture is at a critical juncture, with a huge amount of produce to be harvested between now and August. In California, citrus fruit is still being plucked off the trees, strawberries are getting underway, and many other crops ripen in the summer. In Georgia, Vidalia onions and peaches will soon be mature. In Washington, apple trees are heavy with fruit in the summer.