Risky migration, stolen wages and abusive conditions: the “shackles of modern-day slavery”

Migrant agricultural workers who come to the U.S. on an H-2A visa are supposed to have their pay housing, tools and transportation to and from the U.S and the work site paid for by their employers. But a recent investigation by The Denver Post found migrant workers across the U.S. routinely experience multiple types of abuse and exploitation while the government looks the other way.  

Where there is a need, there is greed 

Agricultural work is a hard, sweaty and back-breaking job. Most Americans simply won’t do it according to farmers in the U.S. So, they must rely on the annual influx of mainly Mexican migrant workers who come to the country on an H-2A visa to keep their farms running. But regular wage theft, unsanitary living conditions and unsafe migration routes are just some of the frequent issues exposed.  

David H. Estes, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia said: 

“The American dream is a powerful attraction for destitute and desperate people across the globe, and where there is need there is greed from those who will attempt to exploit those willing workers for their own obscene profits.” 

Farmers say without these workers, they would have to shut down. In 2023 the U.S. Department of Labor approved 378,000 H-2A visas. A number seven times higher than 9 years ago. But as the number of visas approved has grown, so has the list of violations and abuses migrant workers’ experience. And despite a litany of Labor Department findings, the state and federal government rarely bar violating companies from doing it all over again next year.  

It all comes down to control 

As in many guest workers programs, farmworkers who come to the U.S. on an H-2A visa are tied to their employer. That means if they are experiencing abuse, they legally can’t find a new job. Compounding the issue is that many workers don’t even know their rights. And even if they do, fear of retaliation from their employer is a huge barrier to workers utilizing their legal protections. Employers can effectively weaponize immigration status, access to food or housing and especially future employment to control workers actions.  

Lee, former Colorado Legal Services attorney and professor stated: 

“Due to their isolation and tenuous immigration status, they are fearful of rocking the boat and getting fired, sent home or being reported to immigration authorities.”  

Lawmakers say the current system is “hopelessly and embarrassingly outdated” and that it needs a complete overhaul. In addition, migrants stuck on the Mexican side of the border due to the broken system are also being exploited, targeted by criminal groups and corrupt state officials. To address the abuses, overhaul must include the guest worker program and immigration policy.

The problems have been going on for decades 

Legislation to overhaul the H-2A program has been introduced twice and never made it to the President’s desk. Freedom United and other advocacy groups have been advocating for immigration policy overhaul for years to little effect. The question is, how bad can the situation get before the government has to stop ignoring the current crisis. 

Colorado Senator Michael Bennent remarked: 

“Food keeps showing up somehow miraculously in our grocery stores, as if somebody waved a wand and put it there. The question is, how deep the self-inflicted wounds are that we want to suffer before we get something done.” 

Meanwhile, abusive and exploitative working conditions for migrant workers continue each year due to government inaction. Violence and extortion of migrants enrich criminals, smugglers, and kidnappers at the U.S. Mexico border due to a lack of effective, safe migration policy. We must stand together to advocate for the dismantling of inhumane immigration systems and guest worker programs that play into the hands of traffickers and allow labor exploitation to flourish. Stand with Freedom United and demand safe migration for all in line with international human rights standards.