Agriculture
Agriculture and farming is a cherished part of American identity and remains an important part of the American economy. In 2020, the agriculture, fishing, and forestry industries contributed more than $175 billion to U.S. GDP and supported more than 2.3 million workers. The health of America's farms and the agriculture industry, however, is tied directly to immigration. Farmers frequently worry about finding enough workers as few Americans seem willing to take on the most difficult and physical farm jobs—particularly those harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet the H-2A visa, the only agricultural visa currently available to American farms, is too expensive and cumbersome to work for many U.S. growers. We explore this issue—and the way it costs our economy—below.
Statement from New American Economy on the Passing of the Senate’s Budget Resolution
Following the Senate passing their budget resolution, New American Economy issued the following statement: “We applaud the Senate’s passage of a budget resolution that includes a path to citizenship for millions of immigrant workers and families,” said Jeremy Robbins, Executive Director of New American Economy. “Dreamers, TPS holders, farmworkers, and… Read More
New American Economy Endorses the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019
Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Mike Simpson (R-ID), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) have introduced H.R. 4916, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, which would create a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented agriculture workers, streamline the H-2A process,… Read More
New data shows San Jose’s immigrant household income increased by more than $4 billion in just one year
New York – Today New American Economy (NAE), a bipartisan research and advocacy organization focused on immigration, released new data highlighting the significant contributions immigrants make to San Jose’s community and economy. The data shows that immigrants in San Jose are driving economic growth — the area’s… Read More
Indian Neurologist Leads Groundbreaking Alzheimer’s Research Institute in San Antonio
Sudha Seshadri wanted to be a doctor since childhood, when she watched her mother suffer from multiple sclerosis, a neurologic disorder that would kill her when Seshadri was a 19-year-old medical school student in southern India. After her father died the same year, Seshadri transferred to be closer to her… Read More
Grand Rapids Business Journal: Report documents immigrant contributions
Grand Rapids community leaders agreed making immigrants feel like they belong in Kent County not only is right but is economically smart. Foreign-born residents of Kent County contributed $3.3 billion to the county’s GDP in 2016, according to a report presented Sept. 12 by the local Gateways for Growth Project,… Read More
NAE Statement on the Joint Cabinet Commitment to Improving the H-2A Agricultural Worker Visa
Following the announcement that four cabinet agencies – the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, State, and Homeland Security – are working in coordination to propose streamlining and improving the H-2A agricultural visa program, New American Economy President John Feinblatt issued the following statement: “Simplifying the H-2A visa program would pay immediate dividends… Read More
Haitian-American Nurse Advocates for Protection of All Farmworkers
When Myrto Cesaire left the instability of her native Haiti in 1980, she took the first job she could find when she arrived in Florida. She became a cabbage picker. Although she only worked in the field for a few months, she found a lifelong calling… Read More
First Generation Farmer May Be Only-Generation Farmer if Foreign Labor Stays Home
Brandon Fawaz grew up tending backyard crops on 15 acres in Fort Jones, a small town in California’s far north Scotts Valley. The son of a Lebanese-American highway patrolman and a school principal, Fawaz ultimately stuck with farming. Today, Fawaz Farming, located 12 miles south of his hometown, produces hay… Read More
Without Migrant Workers, Texas Shrimp Trawlers Forced to Tie Up Boats
In 2007, Andrea Hance and her husband decided to buy a shrimp boat. The couple had stable careers in South Texas — he as a crop insurance agent and she as the owner of a mortgage company. But they were looking for a new challenge and were taken with the… Read More
Pastor: U.S. Economy Needs Low-Skilled Immigrants, Too
The Missouri Bootheel, in the far southeastern corner of Missouri, is not known for its immigrants, who account for just 1.3 percent of the population. But Sunday mass at St. Cecilia’s Parish in Kennett is full of foreign-born worshippers. Of the 250 families who attend the church, roughly two-thirds are… Read More
Immigrants and American Farms
In 2019, more than half of all hired farmworkers in the United States were immigrants, or roughly 450,000 workers. In many states known for their fresh produce, immigrant farm laborers make up large shares of miscellaneous agriculture workers—the occupation that includes those hand picking crops in the field.
Share of Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers in Crop Production, Undocumented, 2019
Farm Labor Shortages
In recent years, the number of new immigrants arriving in the country to work in agriculture has fallen by 75 percent. Rising wages indicate this has led to a major labor shortage on U.S. farms—making it difficult for many growers to stay in business or expand their operations. The workers left are also aging rapidly, meaning shortages will likely worsen as they retire.
Decline in Key States
The Aging of Foreign-Born Farm Workers
The Cost of Our Farm Labor Shortage
Because agriculture is intertwined with so many other industries in our economy—such as transportation, packing, and irrigation—a shortage of farm workers hurts the U.S. economy more broadly. We estimate U.S. growers would have produced $3.1 billion more in fresh fruits and vegetables per year by 2014 had farm labor not been an issue. The table in this section shows the costs to the U.S. economy for failing to meet this target.
Rising Imports
In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables Americans eat that is imported. Although many factors play into this phenomenon, we estimate labor shortages alone explain 27 percent of the market share decline experienced by U.S. growers from 1998-2000 to 2010-2012. Had growers maintained their hold on the domestic market, an estimated 89,300 additional U.S. jobs would have been created by 2012.
Jobs Americans Won’t Do
U.S. fresh produce growers have long said that few, if any, American workers are willing to take on the most arduous farm jobs. We studied this issue in North Carolina, examining how many American workers actually applied for heavily advertised farming positions in 2011, a period when the country was still recovering from the recession. The table in this section shows the results.
The H-2A Visa
The H-2A visa program, the only visa currently available to bring in temporary agriculture workers, is too cumbersome and unworkable for many farms. Farmers desperate for workers frequently go through the application process only to receive their laborers late, resulting in crop loss.
Sources:
1 “Why Domestic Agriculture Needs New, Workable Farm Labor Alternatives Now,” National Council of Agricultural Employers, 2011. Available online.
2Ibid.
3Ibid.
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