#agricultural-labor

#agricultural-labor

If you want the briefest possible explanation of why Democrats lost the presidency and Congress in 2024, it was because swing voters cared a lot about inflation and the politicians running the country decided to talk about everything else. Yes, they had talking points about inflation, but they were mostly defensive (it wasn't as bad as it had been, it was due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, etc.). And they decided to try to force people to think instead about their issues, such as abortion rights and the threat Donald Trump posed to democracy. It didn't work.

American agriculture relies on foreign workers, and they rely on the H-2A visa program to work legally in the United States. Despite a growing number of people applying for visa spots, the Trump administration has proposed cutting the division of the Department of Labor that enforces H-2A rules, leaving workers to choose between being vulnerable to ICE or to exploitation.