Slate Daily Feed What Next | Trump’s Attack on Visas
Sep 23, 2025
Max Blau, a ProPublica reporter focused on health care, the environment, agriculture, and immigration, dives into the H-2A visa program. He reveals how American agriculture, reliant on foreign workers, faces challenges under proposed cuts to enforcement. The conversation highlights disturbing cases of exploitation, like that of Sophie, and systemic vulnerabilities within labor contracting. With labor shortages looming, Blau discusses the potential future of H-2A amid growing demand and the risks of legislative changes that threaten workers' rights.
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H-2A Is Critical But Risky
- The H-2A visa supplies seasonal farm labor crucial to U.S. agriculture and can fill gaps when undocumented workers disappear.
- But the program's growth increases reliance on oversight to prevent exploitation of vulnerable workers.
Visa Structure Creates Dependency
- H-2A ties workers to specific employers and yields higher pay and housing compared to home-country wages, but it offers no path to citizenship.
- That dependency increases vulnerability to coercion by employers or contractors.
Worker Trapped By A Contractor
- Javier Sanchez Mendoza ran a farm labor contracting scheme that trapped a worker named Sophie in abuse and forced servitude.
- He confiscated her passport, tricked her into a fake marriage, sexually assaulted her, and never paid wages.
