In the United States 47 to 70% of 2.4 million farmworkers are undocumented. Undocumented farmworkers already faced adversity before Covid-19. Living in horrible housing conditions, working in labor camps, receiving questionable pay, exposure to pesticides, generally high rates of diabetes, little access to medical care, and discrimination are just some examples of the sad reality for migrant farmworkers in America. As Covid-19 continues to impact every part of society, migrant farmworkers are facing exploitation and possible public health disaster more than ever before.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images via https://fortune.com/2020/04/03/farmworkers-coronavirus-essential-workers-covid-19-agriculture/

Considering the history of exploitation of undocumented farmworkers in America, the coronavirus has put an already vulnerable group at an even higher risk, and on track to a public health and human rights disaster. Because labor camps have very little space to make social distancing possible, an outbreak is more likely to occur. Many undocumented workers are left without information about the virus from their employers, and without proper personal protection equipment and training for disinfecting or what to do when feeling ill.

Farmworkers are essential, and are now being recognized as “heroes”. But I would argue that in the context of Covid-19, they are martyrs. Undocumented farmworkers have little options, and are basically forced to accept the danger and risk in order to continue feeding America and the rest of the world, who until now didn’t even consider the conditions that workers have faced for many years. Undocumented farmworkers have little workers’ rights, little pay, little protection, little access to healthcare, and very little gratitude from the rest of society. It is apparent that undocumented farmworkers need and deserve better than what they have been given. Now is the time to protect those who have protected us for so long, with economic support, better access to health-care and worker protections, amongst many other reparations.

Additional Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/31/during-covid-19-pandemic-immigrant-farmworkers-are-heroes/

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03042020/covid-farmworkers-california-climate-change-agriculture

https://fortune.com/2020/04/03/farmworkers-coronavirus-essential-workers-covid-19-agriculture/