Jobs and Justice Meet at the Border
By Robyn FieserElvira Gonzalez Gonzalez has worked a succession of bad factory jobs over the years to keep her family afloat in the bustling border town of San Luis, Mexico. She's always wanted to exchange her timecard for work picking lettuce next door in Arizona in a town also called San Luis. There, Mexican laborers earn in an hour what she earns in a day.
CITA, the Independent Agricultural Workers Center, helps people like Elvira Gonzalez Gonzalez find jobs in the United States. Photo by Rick D'Elia for CRS
So when a neighbor asked for $400 to help her obtain a visa, she gladly handed over her hard-earned money. Three months later, though, Elvira had nothing to show for it—no visa and no job.
Such abuse of Mexicans seeking jobs under the federal agricultural guest worker program known as H-2A is widespread, according to a forthcoming report by Catholic Relief Services.
Matching Workers With Legal Jobs
The H-2A visa program allows American employers to hire foreign agricultural workers on a seasonal basis when enough local workers aren't available to do the job. Based on interviews with 382 Mexican workers, the CRS study found that poor oversight of the program, particularly in the recruitment process, routinely leads to the exploitation and defrauding of farm workers.
Although charging for job placement is illegal, unscrupulous recruiters routinely require money for their services. Some 40 percent of people interviewed reported paying illegal fees from about $30 to $350—in some cases, merely to be placed on a job waiting list.
Meanwhile, more than 60 percent of interviewed migrants with H-2A visas paid all or part of their transportation costs, even though employers are required to cover or reimburse workers for those costs, which run about $100. Add to that the expenses of obtaining a passport and visa, and the majority of workers end up shelling out about $270 to land a job.
Coming up with that much money in Mexico, where the minimum wage is $5 per day, means many poor Mexicans are forced to take out loans, sometimes from their recruiters. When these workers return home, they must repay the loan at interest rates as high as 10 percent per month. The situation creates a work force characterized by indentured servitude.
That is where the Independent Agricultural Workers Center comes in. Known as CITA, the program matches farm workers in Mexico with legal, temporary farm jobs in the United States.
Designed to improve the recruitment and oversight of the H-2A program, which many employers overlook because of the rolls of red tape involved, CITA provides stable farm labor under good working conditions while helping families and communities in Mexico. Employers receive support in navigating the process so that they get the workers they need in time to harvest their crops.
Farmers to Migrant Labor:
Be My Guest—Workers
A CRS migrant worker program partners understaffed farmers with eager laborers, making it a winner on both sides of the border. View this photo gallery to learn more.
The center, funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, manages the cumbersome H-2A process for farmers and recruiters. CITA finds workers, guides them through the visa process and provides them with orientation and basic employment readiness training. The center also offers resources to ensure workers' needs are met and working conditions are upheld according to the laws that govern farm work. U.S. employers sign on to a code of conduct and agree to respect labor practice standards and pay fair wages. CITA also provides workers with support for emergency medical needs, work force training and assistance resolving labor disputes if they arise.
Realizing a Dream
In addition to restoring a willing and able agricultural work force, this program has improved farm worker treatment, provided protection of labor rights and reduced illegal migration by giving hard-working Mexicans a safe, legal way to access farm jobs without having to rely on dubious labor brokers. In turn, workers, sometimes with the help of their U.S. employers, reinvest at home in businesses and community development projects, creating much-needed jobs and spurring economic growth.
"The United States wins by keeping farmers equipped with a viable work force, maintaining the level of food stability, security and pricing we are accustomed to," says Janine Duron, executive director of CITA. "We can be grateful there are people who are screened, trained and thrilled to come here temporarily to provide a living income and a future nest egg for their families."
It's the idea of a future nest egg that keeps Elvira going these days.
Her husband, José, quit his job stocking shelves at a local supermarket just days before he was set to attend what his neighbor told him would be his orientation for the new job in Arizona.
Since then, the only work he's found has been temporary: sewing on labels at a factory for $12 per day. Elvira's job ends in December.
She has looked into taking legal action against her neighbor, who pawned three of her gold rings in addition to taking her money. Without documentation of the transaction, though, she doesn't have a legal leg to stand on.
"They always cheat the ones with no money because we can't do anything about it," she says.
But Elvira is not letting the experience defeat her. She and her husband will be applying for their H-2A visa through CITA next year.
"We don't even make enough to feed the family here," she says. "And I have neighbors who have worked for six seasons [in Arizona]. It's the only way to improve our situation. That's why we have the dream to work there."
Robyn Fieser is CRS' regional information officer for Latin America and the Caribbean. She is based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
