American Labor Force Loses 1.2 Million Illegal Immigrant Workers

It’s peak tomato season, and Lidia is harvesting crops on farms in California’s Central Valley.

But she feels uneasy. She fears that U.S. immigration enforcement could upend her life, more than 20 years after she crossed the border illegally as a teenager.

“The worry is they’ll pull you over while driving and ask for your papers,” she said. “We need to work. We need to feed our families.”

Immigrant farm workers often get farmed out by contractors to different ranches. But many crews have become smaller this year as immigration raids have bogged down normal farm operations. Some workers still try to slog away despite the risks, while others have disappeared from the workforce.

Experts call out the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies as a major factor. Since January, more than 1.2 million immigrants have left the labor force. Many believe the government should see it through with fairer reforms, but instead, the workforce feels broken.

Immigrants make up nearly 20% of the U.S. labor force, including almost half of farm workers. Without them, some farmers have had to cobble together smaller teams or simply let crops rot in the fields.

In construction, too, job sites have stalled. Some workers feel they’ve been passed over for jobs because they lack papers, while others wonder if they’re even cut out for this uncertain life anymore.

Union leaders say immigrants are essential to farming, construction, and health care. But until leaders knuckle down and agree on real solutions, many workers will just coast along, living in fear while still keeping the U.S. economy running.

📖 Vocabulary List with Practice

1. farm out

• Definition: To give work to someone else, usually outside your main group.

• Example: Many farms farm out their harvesting to contractors.

• Practice: Why might a farmer choose to farm out labor instead of hiring directly?

2. call someone out

• Definition: To publicly criticize or challenge someone.

• Example: Experts called out the government for its strict immigration policies.

• Practice: If you call out a politician, what are you doing?

3. see it through

• Definition: To finish something, even if it’s difficult.

• Example: Many immigrants hope the government will see it through and complete reforms.

• Practice: Can you think of a project you had to see through even when it was tough?

4. bog down

• Definition: To slow down or stop progress.

• Example: Immigration raids bogged down normal farm operations.

• Practice: What kinds of problems can bog down a construction project?

5. slog away

• Definition: To keep working hard at something difficult or boring.

• Example: Farm workers slog away in the fields despite the risks.

• Practice: If you slog away for weeks, how might you feel at the end?

6. to be passed over

• Definition: To be ignored for a job, promotion, or chance.

• Example: Some workers were passed over because they lacked papers.

• Practice: Have you ever felt passed over for an opportunity?

7. to be cut out for

• Definition: To have the right skills or qualities for something.

• Example: Some workers wonder if they are really cut out for this uncertain life.

• Practice: Do you think you are cut out for farm work? Why or why not?

8. knuckle down

• Definition: To start working seriously on something.

• Example: Leaders need to knuckle down and agree on solutions.

• Practice: What is something you need to knuckle down on this week?

9. cobble together

• Definition: To make or put together quickly with limited resources.

• Example: Farmers had to cobble together smaller teams for harvest.

• Practice: Can you give an example of when you had to cobble something together at the last minute?

10. coast along

• Definition: To do the minimum work without much effort.

• Example: Many immigrants just coast along, trying to survive day by day.

• Practice: What happens if a student just coasts along at school without studying hard?