Without enough workers in the U.S. to fill jobs, ranches and farms in Texas look abroad. | sergiomarbel
. The legislation split what was then known as the H-2 program, creating H-2A visas for temporary agricultural workers and H-2B visas for non-agricultural temporary workers., “the goal of the H-2A program remained identical to that of the overall H-2 visa program, which was to meet the United States’ temporary and seasonal labor needs without adding to the country’s permanent population.”
The H-2A program has grown exponentially since its inception — and saw an especially big increase in demand in recent years. Jay Bragg, the associate director of commodity and regulatory activities at the Texas Farm Bureau, said the latest jump in demand for foreign workers is surprising because it’s so steep.
In Dalhart — a city in the panhandle with a population of about 8,300 — many of the H-2A workers assist in harvesting potatoes. In the West Texas desert village of Coyanosa, workers harvest watermelons and cantaloupes. In Giddings, H-2A recipients work in either nurseries or on construction related to agriculture.
The agency then decides whether to approve all, part or none of the H-2A positions requested by the employer. Once positions are approved, the employer has to complete additional paperwork with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Then, foreign workers may apply for H-2A visas, a process that includes an interview with their local U.S. consulate.
Rachel Micah-Jones, founder of the transnational migrant rights organization Centro de los Derechos del Migrante Inc., told The Texas Newsroom that H-2A workers face violations of their rights “from the moment they are recruited to work in the United States.”
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