Migrant farmworkers are individuals who are required to be absent from their permanent place of residence for the purpose of seeking remunerated employment in agricultural work. They work temporarily or seasonally in farm fields, orchards, canneries, plant nurseries, fish/seafood packing plants, and more. Migrant farmworkers are also called migratory agricultural workers or mobile workers. Seasonal farmworkers are individuals who are employed in temporary farmwork but do not move from their permanent residence to seek farmwork; they may also have other sources of employment. Migrant farmworkers make up an estimated 73% of agriculture workers in the United States.
The work of migrant farmworkers is essential to Americas food production. They perform a variety of tasks, including planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops, as well as packing and processing food products. Migrant farmworkers often work long hours in difficult conditions, and they are frequently exposed to pesticides and other hazardous substances. The work is physically demanding and requires a great deal of manual labor.
The conditions for and rights of farmworkers and their families must be improved, and modernizing the temporary visa program and establishing a pathway to citizenship for long-term undocumented agricultural workers is urgently needed to protect farmworkers and their families and ensure the future of America’s essential agriculture industry.
