Actions are needed to help mitigate H-2B workers’ vulnerabilities and empower them to secure their rights and pursue safe, justly compensated work in the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security has taken an important step to protect noncitizen workers from exploitative  employers who threaten them with retaliation related to their immigration status.

It is no secret that the U.S. agriculture industry is largely sustained by a Mexican workforce, as few U.S.-born workers are willing to take these difficult and low-paid jobs. This is why Polaris has been working tirelessly with the Consulates from Mexico in the U.S. to speak directly with the Mexican community working in the U.S.

National conversation has focused on trafficking within the context of governors sending migrants seeking asylum in this country to Martha’s Vineyard and Washington, D.C. for the purpose of making a political point. 

The estimated number of people in situations of trafficking rose by 12 percent between 2016 and 2021, the latest international consensus study found. Today, some 27.6 million people around the globe are living without the freedom to choose how they live and work, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and Walk Free.

The case of Larsen Farms in Texas is only one example of how the H-2A visa system is badly broken. Farms owners should be held accountable for what happens under their watch.

During COVID-19, temporary changes in regulations to work visas, like H-2A and H-2B, benefit employers but put workers at greater risk of human trafficking and exploitation. Lack of oversight and lack of clear access to crucial information for workers increases the imbalance of power, favoring employers.

Los cambios en los protocolos de visas temporales de trabajo debido al COVID-19 crean más desbalances de poder y ponen a los trabajadores en riesgo de trata laboral.