U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Steve Censky, along with Guatemala Governance Minister Enrique Antonio Degenhart Asturias, Labor Minister Gabriel Vladimir Aguilera Bolaños, Economy Minister Acisclo Valladares Urruela, Agriculture Minister Mario Estuardo Méndez, Guatemala Ambassador to the United States of America Manuel Alfredo Espina Pinto, Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) Office of American Innovation Kristi Boswell, and EOP National Economic Council Jordan Bonfitto, visit Honduran workers harvesting apples at the Adams County Nursery in Aspers, PA, on August 15, 2019. The nursery uses the H-2A visa program to support their workforce. Adams County Nursery has been a family owned business for five-generations. For information about how USDA helps with the H-2A visa program, please visit this site: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2019/04/03/usda-launches-new-farmersgov-features-help-h-2a-applications
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Steve Censky, along with Guatemala Governance Minister Enrique Antonio Degenhart Asturias, Labor Minister Gabriel Vladimir Aguilera Bolaños, Economy Minister Acisclo Valladares Urruela, Agriculture Minister Mario Estuardo Méndez, Guatemala Ambassador to the United States of America Manuel Alfredo Espina Pinto, Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP) Office of American Innovation Kristi Boswell, and EOP National Economic Council Jordan Bonfitto, visit Mexican workers who are trimming and shaping Christmas trees; and mowing fields at the Ground Roots (Christmas tree farm), in York, PA, on August 15, 2019. The Ground Roots uses the H-2A visa program to support their workforce. For information about how USDA helps with the H-2A visa program, please visit this site: https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2019/04/03/usda-launches-new-farmersgov-features-help-h-2a-applications
For four generations, since 1932, th
The H-2A Program is a guest worker program offering temporary status to agricultural workers for 10 months or less. The H-2A program has expanded rapidly from 139,832 jobs in 2015 to around 370,000 in 2022. Reports of abuse and exploitation are also growing.
Even when Congress and other federal agencies have tried to protect workers through labor law requirements they have had little impact. Workers are often afraid to report any abuses as their invitation to work the next season is dependent upon the employer or labor contractor who hired them.
Join National Farm Worker Ministry and guest speaker Caysey Farmer, Staff Attorney with the Immigrants’ and Language Rights Center (ILRC) at Indiana Legal Services, to learn more about the H-2A Program and why so many Farm Worker advocates are calling for the program to be reformed.
Webinar will be available in English and Spanish. A recording of the webinar will be sent to all registered applicants, so we encourage you to register even if you cannot attend.
