‘We Obviously Need Foreign Labor’: Farmers battle every year to get enough legal workers
(InvestigateTV) — Farmers and ranchers are the backbone of America. They work to take care of land and livestock, providing the food that ends up on our tables at home.
To maintain that supply of food, U.S. farmers rely heavily on foreign workers who may or may not be here on legal visas.
The United States Department of Agriculture released the following statistics on crop farmers between the years of 2018 and 2020:
- 30% were born in the United States
- 6% were immigrants with U.S. citizenship
- 23% were authorized immigrants, permanent residents or green card holders
- 41% held no work authorization
Immigration Attorney Paul Balducci told our investigators that many farmers rely on programs that bring foreign workers to the U.S.
There are many people that own and operate farms, and they rely on nonimmigrant workers that are brought in on the H-2A program, which is a temporary work visa program,” said Balducci.
The largest industry in both Georgia and South Carolina continues to be agriculture.
More than 500 farmers filed with immigration to bring more than 28,000 non-U.S. workers to Georgia in 2024.
In South Carolina, nearly 170 farmers made the same request for 7,600 workers.
“We obviously need foreign labor for that. There’s just not nearly enough workers who are interested in working in agriculture,” said Balducci.
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