Quick Take
A new report by UC Santa Cruz’s Institute for Social Transformation and the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño examines the harsh conditions faced by farmworkers and how immigration fears contribute to the severity of their challenges.
A new report by researchers at UC Santa Cruz takes a look at the bleak conditions faced by farmworkers, how they lead to serious health and financial problems and how increased immigration enforcement makes those hardships worse.
The study focuses on the conditions of workers in the Salinas Valley, where agriculture is a multibillion-dollar industry. The research was conducted in partnership with the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño, a nonprofit organization that helps Indigenous people from communities in southern Mexico gain access to social services in California.
Gabriella Alvarez, co-author of the report and former researcher at UCSC’s Institute for Social Transformation, said most agriculture workers live below the poverty line and struggle to afford housing, child care, transportation, food and other necessities. The average annual income for most farmworkers is $23,000, she said, when most families of four need at least $76,000 to survive in this area. The median wage for farmworkers in 2025 was $18.50 per hour.
The report also highlights the housing challenges many agriculture workers face, including unaffordable rents, poor housing conditions, overcrowding and multiple families living in one housing unit.
Environmental events caused by climate change also threaten the safety and stability of agriculture workers. Farmworkers die from heat exposure at nearly 20 times the rate of other outdoor workers, said Alvarez. While California has heat-safety laws that mandate shade, water and rest breaks, the report says some employers “still cut corners in exchange for higher productivity.”
Weather events such as the 2023 Pajaro River flood also place these workers in a vulnerable position. Hundreds of Pajaro residents, many of whom work in agriculture, were forced to leave their homes due to damage from flooding and storms. The floods also reduced job opportunities for workers, said Alvarez, as many of the fields were contaminated with debris and runoff for months afterward, making it harder to harvest or plant any crops.
Ongoing immigration enforcement by the Trump administration has caused widespread anxiety among farmworkers. Alvarez said fear of deportation has contributed to up to 70% of people not showing up to work during intense enforcement periods.
The fear also prevents farmworkers from leaving their homes to do everyday activities, like going to grocery stores or taking their kids to school, she said. Lookout has previously reported on how businesses in Watsonville have struggled to stay afloat as undocumented residents are opting to stay home and not spend money because they’re afraid they or their family members could be deported.
Alvarez and the team at the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueño suggest solutions to help farmworkers, such as strengthening workplace protections for agricultural workers and advocating for state and federal pathways to permanent status and establishing “safe access zones,” where workers can seek health care or other services, organize or report violations without fear of retaliation.
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