(NewsNation) — More than 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and some immigrant rights groups say the situation could worsen amid threats of mass deportations.
“If these mass deportations are executed and this labor force disrupted, it’s going to end up for higher costs at supermarkets, higher consumer good costs,” said Thomas Kennedy, who works with the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “The companies are not going to just eat the cost. They are going to pass it on to us.”
The federal government estimates nationwide more than 40% of farm workers are undocumented.
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NewsNation reached out to farmers but many of them are reluctant to admit they hire immigrants illegally. Groups that represent them, however, hope President-elect Donald Trump will exclude their workers from his mass deportation plans.
Immigration and US agriculture
The American Farm Bureau Federation says U.S. agriculture and the nation’s economy rely on foreign workers to put food on the table.
“It’s widely accepted that the immigration system must be fixed, but solutions should ensure vital industries like farming, processing, distribution and food services are not harmed by unintended consequences,” the federation’s director of governmental affairs John Boatwright said. “These are solutions that Congress must address, not just a presidential administration.”
Farmers are already dealing with a worker shortage.
In 2014, about 41% of farmers reported a labor shortage. By 2022, it was the most pressing issue facing farmers, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
“We need to stabilize the workforce for agriculture,” Farmworker Justice CEO Ron Estrada said. “This is for the betterment of not only the farmers and growers but American consumers.”
Trump’s transition team hasn’t responded to NewsNation’s request for comment about whether there would be a mass deportation exemption for farm workers.
During Trump’s first presidency, he promised his deportation efforts wouldn’t target the farm sector. However, there were raids at poultry and produce processing centers in Mississippi and Nebraska.
Can people migrate to the US legally to farm?
Agriculture is a $1.5 trillion industry. Farmers can use the H-2A and H-2B visa programs to legally hire foreign workers, and the program has grown.
Labor Department data shows they certified 378,000 migrants in 2023, which is three times more than in 2014.
Farmers say workers born in the U.S. are either unable or unwilling to work on farms.
California Republican U.S. Rep. John Duarte said small towns would collapse if workers were deported.
He hopes Trump will pledge not to target immigrant workers who have been in the country for five or more years with no criminal record.
Trump’s incoming border leader Tom Homan has said immigration enforcement will focus on criminals and people with final deportation orders, but no one is exempt.