These migrants are in the United States illegally. Additionally, there are now three and ten year penalties to immigrants' re-entry if they have been in the United States illegally for 180 days and 360 days consecutively. Therefore, many of the migrant farm workers are either returning home, living in the United States in constant fear of being deported, or not being able to adjust their status to LPR while waiting for their priority dates to become current. With the new welfare reform initiatives, Congress is denying migrant farm workers the rights to the very food they reap. Thus, those who have relied on those benefits now find themselves in desperate situations.
Agricultural work is dependent on weather fluctuations such as rain, hail, or drought.
When weather conditions are bad, many workers do not get paid. Under the new law, the thousands of workers who do not meet the new requirements now lack the benefits which previously sustained them through hard times. Unless the new requirements are met, affected immigrants will no longer receive food stamps and will be solely reliant on available community food banks such as the Salvation Army and other non-governmental agencies. Meanwhile, community food banks are being rapidly depleted. The current AWPA regulations provide that migrant and seasonal agricultural workers are given advance disclosure of work terms and conditions, that employers keep complete and accurate records and pay statements, provide transportation safety, adhere to housing health and safety standards, and comply with their work agreements with migrant farm workers.