Introduction

Going to the grocery store is an experience most Americans don't think about much. You expect a fresh produce section, and a wide variety of fresh and canned fruits and vegetables to choose from. But what you may not know is that the availability of these goods at the grocery store depends on a complex cycle of agricultural production and distribution. At the heart of this cycle is a little-known but vitally important individual: The migrant farmworker.

Estimates of the farmworker population vary, but we know that each year a huge group of workers and their families between three and five million people leave their homes to follow the crops. Agricultural labor requirements in a given area may vary greatly between the different phases of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and processing. Farmworkers' labor is crucial to the production of a wide variety of crops in almost every state in the nation.

 Population Demographics

Who are these workers? The migrant population is a diverse one, and its composition varies from region to region. However, it is estimated that 85% of all migrant workers are minorities, of whom most are Hispanic (including Mexican- Americans as well as Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and workers from Central and South America). The migrant population also includes Black/African Americans, Jamaicans, Haitians, Laotians, Thais, and other racial and ethnic minorities.

Some workers must live apart from their families; they travel, work, and live in groups of single men, often under the supervision and control of a crew leader. Other workers, especially in the midwestern migrant stream, travel with their entire family.

Although it is true that some parts of the American aricultural industry rely heavily on undocumented workers, most migrant farmworkers are either American citizens or are working in the country legally. There is little factual information to support the current media furor over the supposed tax burden imposed by immigrants. In fact, some studies show that immigrants generate more in taxes paid than they consume in services received. As for illegal immigrants, they are simply not eligible to receive most forms of public assistance.

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