Immigration and Labor

Farmworker Justice helps farmworkers and their organizations improve wages and working conditions and immigration policy. Our agricultural labor system is unsustainable and unfair to farmworkers and their families. The nation’s immigration system is broken. Labor laws discriminate against farmworkers and are not enforced effectively. Many agricultural employers engage in illegal or deficient labor practices. The resulting labor force turnover means that more than half of the approximately 2.4 million farmworkers are undocumented and marginalized. The H-2A guestworker program, which has grown exponentially in the last decade, fails both U.S. and foreign workers. Farmworker Justice advocates for immigration reform to legalize undocumented farmworkers, for better labor protections and for more effective enforcement of labor violations. We also file lawsuits on behalf of farmworkers and their organizations to challenge systemic abuses by employers and their labor contractors and unlawful conduct by government agencies.
Guestworker ProgramsLearn about the history of guestworker programs, H-2A program for temporary agricultural work, and the H-2B visa program.
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US Labor Law for FarmworkersLearn about the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
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Immigration Reform & FarmworkersImmigration is a critically important issue for farmworkers. Learn about current legislation proposals impacting farmworkers. |
International Labor RightsFarmworkers are a transnational workforce. We collaborate with international labor advocacy organizations to empower workers. |
Sub-contracted WorkersLearn more about the role of farm labor contractors, sub-contracted labor, and joint employer responsibility in agriculture. |