The Pros And Cons Of H-2A Immigrant Workers

The Napa County wine industry in California rely heavily on temporary foreign labor to produce wine and keep fields from rotting. Most of the workers that grape farmers hire to work their crops are H-2A visa recipients. The H-2A visa program allows agricultural employers, such as that of vintners, to hire foreign agricultural workers for a specific amount of time. Because of the shortage in American labor, farmers are encouraged to hire foreign laborers to work their fields in hopes to satisfy the demand for wine production. The debate whether the temporary H-2A visa workers are necessary to produce wine and maintain vineyards, remain unsettled and with much controversy. The employing farmers and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have opposing

domestic workers, and that they will overstay their visa. In the agricultural industry the H-2A visa program is needed to maintain a steady workforce in the fields. If it weren’t for temporary H-2A visa workers vintners, or grape farmers, would have no success in wine production. Despite the government’s concern, H-2A visa laborers are a necessity to the Napa County grape farmers due to the increased demand for wine production and decreased rate of domestic agricultural labor.

As we are all aware since the last presidential election more tension has become apparent between immigrants (particularly Mexican immigrants) and U.S. citizens, especially when the topic of employment rises. Despite the views each party presents, quality production and labor force are somethings both parties have in common. The fear of illegal residency in the state of California has always been an issue, but lately Attorney General Sessions has linked the H-2A program to be an enabler for illegal residency. This administrative concern leads federal agencies to crackdown on fraud and misuse in the H-2A visa program. And guides the federal government to wholly enforce federal procedures prioritizing the use

In California, especially in the wine industry, a vast number of workers are needed to maintain vineyards before they go to waste. Hiring H-2A visa holders to work seasonal crops benefits vintners, the wine industry, and the California economy. In total, Californian growers hired 14,252 H-2A visa workers in 2017, an increase of 3,121 from the previous year; 500 of which will be working the vineyards and wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties (Mohan, 3). Without H-2A visa workers, who maintain vineyards for wine consumption, grapes would be left to rot, causing a negative blow to the agricultural economy. According to Gordon, “Americans drink more wine than any other country, more than 3 billion liters annually. Per capita, we now consume about three gallons a year, triple what we drank 50 years ago” (2). If H-2A visa workers seized to exist, the crops would not get harvested, the vineyards would deteriorate, and vintners would be unable to produce wine. Between the years 2010 and 2015 there was a recorded increase of 14% in wine production making Napa and Sonoma counties the top producers of American wines –producing 85% of America’s wines (Gordon, 3). Production that without the assistance of H-2A visa laborers, would not be possible. And with Napa county wineries’ contribution of $60 billion to the state’s economy annually, the state of