{"id":12244,"date":"2023-10-19T01:38:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T00:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriculturelore.com\/?p=12244"},"modified":"2023-10-19T01:38:02","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T00:38:02","slug":"how-many-immigrants-work-in-agriculture-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.agriculturelore.com\/how-many-immigrants-work-in-agriculture-in-california\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Immigrants Work In Agriculture In California"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Agriculture is one of the largest employers of immigrant workers in California. It is estimated that roughly 75% of California’s hired farm labor is of foreign origin. The figures come from data collected by the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Agricultural Worker Survey (NAWS), which surveyed more than 3,000 agricultural workers in California. The survey reveals that a majority of California’s agricultural workers are immigrants, and the majority of these immigrants are from Mexico, which accounts for 54% of the foreign-born agricultural workers.<\/p>\n

The survey indicates that immigrant workers in California’s agricultural sector tend to have low productivity and wages, and a disproportionate number of them are employed as irregular (seasonal) laborers. In addition, most immigrant agricultural workers do not have access to benefits such as health insurance, vacation and sick leave, or retirement plans. This situation is compounded by the fact that most immigrant agricultural workers encounter language and cultural barriers when trying to navigate employment systems in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Immigrant workers in California’s agricultural sector also face many legal challenges. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s statistics, many immigrant agricultural workers lack proper immigration documents and often they are unaware of the legal consequences of working in the U.S. without authorization. The survey reveals that 44% of the immigrant agricultural workers surveyed are unauthorized, which further compounds their already difficult situation.<\/p>\n

Immigrant workers in agriculture are often the last to benefit from any labor laws or government policies designed to protect the rights of workers. Since immigrant agricultural workers are often employed in illegal or irregular jobs, they are usually not covered by the protections of labor laws. This means they are often exploited and can be subject to harsh and often dangerous working conditions.<\/p>\n