Farmworker visas more than doubled in state, nation in recent years

Regional News

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The number of H-2A visas issued to agricultural workers in the state has more than doubled in the past five years, mirroring a national increase in the temporary “guest worker program” for noncitizens.

The Department of Labor certified 5,391 H-2A workers in the state in fiscal 2016 compared to just 2,110 that were certified in fiscal 2011, according to department data. Nationally, the number jumped from 77,246 workers to 165,741 in the same period.

Farmers say the workers are vital to their operations and that the program is working well and providing a badly needed source of labor. But labor advocates say the visa program is growing for all the wrong reasons: Keeping wages low and workers powerless.

The H-2A program is for seasonal workers, generally for a period of 10 months or less, to provide farms with “short-term agricultural labor when the number of available domestic workers is insufficient.”

Employers who want to hire workers on H-2A visas first have to apply with the Labor Department, which looks to make sure there are not enough able U.S. workers to fill the jobs and to make sure hiring foreign workers won’t hurt wages or working conditions for U.S. workers. If OK’d by the Labor Department, the employer then applies with Customs and Immigration Services for the visas, which workers can apply for in their home countries.