Miriam Jordan of the New York Times gives an update on how undocumented immigrant farmworkers are being affected by COVID-19 and points out the inconsistency in how they’ve been deemed essential during the crisis but still face the threat of deportation. Many agricultural workers have been sent letters from their employers that they can show to authorities if they’re questioned, like an extremely informal pass that may get them out of trouble, if need be.(Jordan, 2020)

The food system is struggling to figure out how to handle the far-reaching changes that COVID-19 has brought on. Owners of farms and orchards are having to figure out how to create work environments that don’t put their workers at risk for contracting the disease, while workers themselves have to decide between going to work and risking getting sick, or staying home knowing that without papers they’ll be ineligible for unemployment benefits.

This is a good example of how complex the food supply chain is. It cannot handle the harsh changes in demand that we’re seeing under the pandemic. Restaurant shutdowns and school closures have thrown a huge wrench into the system, causing major changes in the ways consumers get their food, which then causes the people responsible for packing food for schools and restaurants to get laid off, as Jordan notes.

The letters from employers state the obvious: agricultural workers are essential to the food supply chain, essential enough that the Department of Homeland Security recognizes their importance and implores them to keep coming to work. For their treatment, working conditions, or wage to stay the same or get worse after the pandemic is over would make hypocrites out of everyone alongside them in the supply chain – including consumers. It’s unclear if when this is over immigrant workers will be deported or if they’ll finally be recognized as necessary workers and treated accordingly.

-Thomas Star

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/coronavirus-undocumented-immigrant-farmworkers-agriculture.html?searchResultPosition=1