But relying on a foreign demographic means farmers are at the mercy of a complicated immigration system, and many farmers say more needs to be done to provide access to visas and workers.ĪLAMEDA: Nothing's been passed. And many more migrant workers from Mexico commute across the border every day. That's the visa program for seasonal agriculture workers. Now, Alameda said he's one of the largest H-2A employers in the country. They're especially stark for farmers like Alameda, who rely on migrant labor for their own livelihoods and have for decades. He's a farmer with operations in California and Arizona near the Mexican border.ĪLAMEDA: But now because of the border situation, this is what they've had to build up, and they're trying to make do with what they got.īUSTILLO: Driving past the tents, it's clear that immigration issues loom largest for border towns like Yuma. This all - all these tents and all that were never out here before.īUSTILLO: That's Craig Alameda. It looks like a drab traveling circus, but it's actually a facility to process immigrants.ĬRAIG ALAMEDA: Those are all makeshift tents that have been brought in to house and handle the influx here that we've had in the last couple of years. XIMENA BUSTILLO, BYLINE: Next to a flea market in Yuma, Ariz., there's a cluster of white tents and antennas. NPR's Ximena Bustillo spoke to farmers in Arizona about their labor force needs. That means immigration issues and the agricultural industry are closely intertwined.

Nearly three-quarters of farm workers in the United States are immigrants.

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