Farm workers report widespread fear, reduced daily activity after immigration raids, survey finds

92 percent of workers say raids have disrupted employment, 61 percent shopping less, UFW Foundation study shows

A new survey of 2,250 U.S. farm workers, many of them undocumented, reveals pervasive fear and behavioral changes tied to the Trump administration’s intensifying immigration enforcement — with workers reporting they shop less, skip medical care, and worry about being separated from their families.

The survey, released Thursday by the United Farm Workers Foundation, found that 92 percent of farm workers said raids and deportations have affected their employment. Ninety percent said they worry about family separation. Fears are shaping daily routines: 61 percent reported shopping less, and 29 percent said they are avoiding medical attention for fear of encountering immigration authorities. Seventeen percent said they fear being forced into labor while in immigration detention.

Yasmine, a farm worker who has been in the United States for more than 20 years and is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, described living with “stress, uncertainty and fear.” She spoke at a press conference about the survey, identifying herself only by her first name.

“When I leave to work, I’m afraid to not come home and to never see my daughters again,” Yasmine said. She said her family goes out only when absolutely necessary, for groceries. “The other day was our daughter’s 11th birthday and we couldn’t celebrate it out of fear of going out. Family separation worries me a lot. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Yasmine said she is experiencing delays in renewing her DACA work permits; her husband is an undocumented immigrant. She said a pathway to citizenship “would change a lot” and would give her family “stability, something right now I don’t have.”

The survey’s findings come as the Department of Homeland Security frames worksite enforcement as a core mission. “Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to protect public safety, national security, and economic stability while rescuing individuals who may be victims of labor trafficking or exploitation,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to The Guardian.

The UFW Foundation said gathering data from undocumented farm workers is difficult, but it drew on its database to conduct the survey. “This is the first in-depth study to survey the concerns and fears of undocumented farm workers as well as their hopes and aspirations,” said Erica Lomeli Corcoran, the foundation’s CEO. “We hope this survey will shine a light so those in power can understand the realities faced by those who are the most powerless.”

The survey also gauged workers’ aspirations for immigration reform. Seventy-six percent said they want protections from deportation and detention; 53 percent hope for a pathway to legal status and citizenship. Eighty-seven percent said they would be able to visit family in their home countries if Congress passed immigration reform that granted them legal status.

According to the 2022 National Agricultural Workers Survey, there are more than 2.6 million farm workers in the United States. Seventy-three percent are Hispanic, 66 percent are noncitizen immigrants, and 47 percent report lacking work authorization.

The UFW Foundation survey was released Thursday. The foundation described its sample as drawn from its farm worker database, a population that includes many undocumented individuals.