TRUMANSBURG, NY (WENY) -- President-elect Donald Trump's potential mass deportations could significantly affect U.S. agriculture, from labor shortages to price increases. 

Tom Homan, a former ICE director, has been appointed as Trump’s “border czar” and is a strong advocate for stricter immigration enforcement. During a visit to the southern border on November 26 with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Homan made it clear that the administration would not wait until January to implement deportations, which could disrupt the farmworker labor force, especially for those relying on migrant workers. 

However, farmers are now raising the flag for more protection surrounding the H-2A program. Though Trump has not specifically targeted H-2A workers, his administration proposed changes in 2019 that could impact the program, including: 

  • Reduced recruitment requirements for foreign guestworkers 
  • Wage changes by adjusting the "adverse effect wage rate" (AEWR), potentially lowering wages for some workers 
  • Increased costs for workers, such as higher travel expenses that would reduce their earnings 
  • Weakened protections against worker exploitation 

These changes were designed to make the program to benefit employers, but critics argue they would hurt workers by reducing their wages and protections. 

Farmers in Upstate New York, who rely heavily on the H-2A program, are already concerned about these potential changes. According to Farmworker Justice, nearly 12,000 of the 82,000 farmworkers in New York State are migrants, many of whom come through the H-2A program. 

The H-2A program had origin ties to the 1942 Bracero program that allowed temporary labor from Mexico but ended in 1964. The H-2A program was then created in the 1980s allowing employers to hire foreign workers for temporary agricultural jobs when U.S. workers are unavailable.  

The program has expanded over time, with many farmers, like Nathaniel Thompson, who owns Remembrance Farm in Trumansburg, New York, now relying on it to stabilize their labor force. 

“I don’t know where the food is going to come from if that many people are deported,” says Thompson, expressing concern over the potential disruption in labor. “Immigrants come here to do work that Americans largely won’t do,” he adds. 

Thompson began farming in 2003 and expanded his operations, eventually transitioning to a dairy farm. Initially, his labor force consisted mostly of interns or apprentices, but many left after a season. After facing labor shortages, Thompson turned to the H-2A program in 2016, which helped stabilize his farm’s workforce and made it easier to plan for year-round staffing. 

Yet he notes that the H-2A process can be bureaucratic and time-consuming. The surge in applications for H-2A visas has led to bottlenecks in processing, particularly at U.S. consulates in Mexico, delaying workers’ visa appointments by weeks. 

Thompson’s seasonal workers, Rafael and Fernando from Guanajuato, Mexico, have been returning to his farm for nine years. Fernando, 40, explains, “The salary in Mexico is very low. If you want to build your own home, you need to go abroad to the United States to work.” 

If mass deportations or further cuts to the H-2A program go into effect, farmers like Thompson fear it will lead to labor shortages, rising food prices, and a disruption in the agriculture industry. 

“I just haven't found many Americans who are really interested in doing that kind of work. And that's the work is largely done by immigrants. Same thing in construction. I think the worst impact will be in the animal in the livestock industry and in the slaughterhouses.” 

Rafael, 34, says most of his earnings go toward providing for his 14-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son back home. He stressed that the job comes with a lot of uncertainty. 

"It's not a completely secure job," he says. "It’s closed for seven months, and you’re left wondering if the work will continue next year or if it might end, and we’ll have to go back to working in Mexico." 

Although the work in the U.S. is similar to what they do in Mexico, it requires the sacrifice of being away from their families for long periods. 

“If the administration could give us the opportunity to have our families here with us, so we could spend more time with them, that would probably be the best for us," says Fernando, who has a 17-year-old daughter. "Not having to be alone working in the U.S. for so long." 

Rafael acknowledges the uncertainty surrounding the future of the H-2A program, adding that they don’t feel prepared for any potential changes. 

“It’s something that could happen, and someday it might." 

Fernando, on the other hand, appreciates learning about organic agriculture, a concept he wasn’t familiar with before. The farms he worked on in Guanajuato, Mexico, used chemicals. 

On June 25, Mexico’s Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena, who President Claudia Sheinbaum has appointed as her environment minister, shared that Mexico’s migration strategy would continue after the prior administration under President López Obrador. 

Bárcena called for more urgency in strengthening programs like the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) in Canada and the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the U.S. 

Fernando emphasizes that farmworkers like him come to the U.S. with one goal in mind. 

“We who come to work in the fields with the H-2A visa are here only to do our jobs, not to disturb anyone, but to work. We do it to support our families in Mexico, reach our goals, and eventually return to our country as usual.”