America’s farms are desperate for labor. Foreign workers bring relief and controversy

NPR reports on a recurring story — the challenges facing growers seeking to recruit farm labor:

“For decades, a predominantly Mexican workforce migrated around the U.S., often starting in Texas and following the harvest through California and eventually to Washington state. But that has changed due to a constellation of factors — including a tightening of the southern border, aging out of the migrant labor force and competition from other industries.

Now, many farm owners say their top concern is finding enough workers to get their crops picked before it’s too late.

Enter the H-2A visa program. First established in the 1980s, the program allows employers to bring in foreign farmworkers on a temporary basis, provided they cannot find enough workers in the U.S. to get the job done, among other requirements.”