A new survey by the United Farm Workers (UFW) Foundation finds widespread fear among farmworkers amid ongoing detentions and deportations by the Trump White House.
The survey of more than 2,250 farmworkers across California and 11 other states also found a majority have been living, working and paying taxes in the US for at least a decade or more.
“Undocumented farm workers are frequently treated as if they are not important human beings, as if their fears, aspirations and concerns are not significant enough to be considered,” said Jonathan Angulo, Ph.D., UFW Foundation’s research and policy analyst fellow and San Diego State University Imperial Valley adjunct lecturer.
Angulo spoke during a July 31 press conference announcing the release of the survey.
Among the survey’s other findings:
- Some 92% report immigration raids and deportations affected their employment.
- Some 88% fear detention and deportation, 61% have shopped less, 29% have not sought medical attention, and 21% are careful about using their social media.
- Some 80% have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years, with 41% for more than 20 years, revealing deep roots in their communities.
- More than 40% have labored in agriculture for more than 20 years, demonstrating their professional experience and labor skills.
- Some 90% worry about family separation because of deportations, 49% have not lived in their country of origin for years, 43% fear being unable to return to the U.S., and 13% fear persecution in their birthplaces.
- Some 76% desire protections from deportation and detention and 53% hope for a pathway to legal status and eventual U.S. citizenship; 37% want to be able to attend and organize their children’s school activities.
Reporting on the findings, the Spanish language news outlet Impulso notes the challenges in collecting data within the farmworker community. A combination of language barriers and fear of speaking publicly often hampers efforts at data collection.
Leveraging its decades long ties to the community, UFW researchers relied on the union’s wide reaching texting system which, according to UFW, has received upwards of 60,000 responses since first launching.
“This demonstrates not only that many of these farmworkers are concerned about their situation and that of their families, but also that those who did respond [to the survey] did so in spite of these challenges,” said Angulo.
Among those surveyed was a farmworker named Yazmin, who asked that only her first name be used for security reasons.
“You can no longer go out shopping, to the stores, or even take your children to school because you’re constantly thinking you’re going to be detained,” said Yazmin, a mother of two girls. “Now, anyone can stop you, say ‘I’m ICE,’ and grab you—and we don’t know if they really are.”
Reports of individuals impersonating ICE agents are widespread, including a case in Oregon where masked men, one armed with a rfile, assaulted a driver, and detained him for 20 minutes before letting him go.
In September California passed SB 627, the No Secret Police Act, prohibiting agents from concealing their faces while on duty. The law was set to take effect in January but was blocked by a federal judge after the Trump administration sued.
“Undocumented workers say they want protection—for themselves and their families—against detention and deportation. They want to continue working as farmworkers and, in the long run, obtain the security and protection that only comprehensive immigration reform can offer,” said Erica Lomeli Corcoran, Executive Director of the UFW Foundation.
Read the full report here.
