The increasing toll of racism and discrimination on California agricultural workers and their families under the Trump administration

Abstract

Over 800,000 Mexican agricultural workers are employed in California each year, of which approximately 400,000 are estimated to be undocumented immigrants. Previous studies have found President Trump to be distinct in his anti-immigrant rhetoric and explicit verbal attacks of immigrants and refugees, which predicts hostile community attitudes towards immigrants and minorities. We convened 19 focus groups (FG) in diverse regions of California to gather information from Latina/o agriculture workers on the potential impact(s) of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and immigration policy on this population. Widespread racism and discrimination were overwhelmingly noted in all FG sessions. Participants reported being the targets of increasingly hostile behavior, including hate crimes, that they attributed to anti-immigration rhetoric. Therefore, participants also reported an increasing sense of fear and psychological distress that led them to avoid community participation. Perceptions of racist and intentionally harmful policies contributed to reduced interactions with healthcare facilities and prompted both documented and undocumented participants to withdraw themselves and their children from public programs. For FG participants, the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and immigration policy severely impacted their community resulting in profound negative impacts on their economic well-being, education, and physical and emotional health.

An examination of acculturation, ethnic identity, discrimination, and offending among U.S. Hispanic persons

“…Because of the political controversy in the recent Trump administration regarding Hispanic persons and foreign-born persons, Hispanic persons are more likely to fall victim to predatory “us” versus “them” rhetoric and othering language (Epps & Furman, 2016; Medel-Herrero et al, 2021). Thus, although experiences of othering have existed for some time in the United States for Hispanic persons, they are arguably particularly salient in today’s society given increased experiences of racism in recent years (Canizales & Vallejo, 2021).…”

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“…Notions of heterosexism and heteronormativity can make LGBTQ+ farmers feel invisible to farm-related organizations and their communities (Hoffelmeyer, 2019). Experiences of racism are associated with distrust of agriculture-related government agencies (Balvanz et al, 2011) and avoidance of community participation (Medel-Herrero et al, 2021) among BIPOC farmers and farm workers. The appropriation of traditional BIPOC agricultural knowledge is another insidious form of racism (Layman & Civita, 2022).…”

Pandemic Impacts on Florida Farmworkers: Emerging Takeaways to Inform Outreach and Policymaking

“…This marginalization has only increased in the pandemic amid the current immigration discourse. Moreover, influential politicians' anti-immigrant rhetoric and attacks against immigrants, minorities, and refugees have fueled hostility and even hate crimes against farmworkers (Medel-Herrero et al, 2021). The public discourse often promotes a narrative that farmworker communities are a burden to the American economy (e.g., "farmworkers take away jobs"), obscuring farmworkers' actual economic contributions (Areguin et al, 2020).…”