Who Picked the Crops? – The American Prospect

Report on US Agricultural Labor Practices and Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

An analysis of the recent harvest season reveals a significant disconnect between agricultural productivity and the principles of sustainable development. Initial concerns that immigration enforcement actions would disrupt the food supply chain proved unfounded, as crop yields met or exceeded expectations. However, the stability of the harvest was achieved through labor practices that conflict with several key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including those concerning decent work, poverty, and inequality. This report examines the methods used to secure the agricultural workforce and evaluates their impact on SDGs 2, 8, 10, and 16.

Agricultural Output and Food Security: SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)

Despite widespread reports of labor shortages due to immigration raids, the 2025 harvest was successfully completed, ensuring continued food availability and contributing to the objectives of SDG 2. Production data indicates a stable or growing agricultural sector.

• Wine Grape Production: Increased by 3 percent compared to 2024.
• Apple Production: Increased by 6 percent, marking a bountiful year according to the USDA.

While short-term food security was maintained, the reliance on precarious labor models raises concerns about the long-term sustainability and resilience of the food production system.

Labor Conditions and Economic Growth: SDG 8 (Decent Work) & SDG 1 (No Poverty)

The continuity of the agricultural workforce was ensured through a two-pronged approach that actively undermines the principles of SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 1 (No Poverty). These strategies have resulted in a labor force that is inexpensive and vulnerable, rather than secure and empowered.

1. Selective Immigration Enforcement: Following pressure from agricultural organizations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly redirected its focus away from farms during the harvest period. However, the persistent threat of enforcement actions served to:
   • Suppress unionization efforts and worker organization.
   • Discourage protests over low wages and poor working conditions.
   • Perpetuate a cycle of poverty (contrary to SDG 1) by maintaining a workforce with limited bargaining power.
2. Expansion of Guest Worker Programs: The use of the H2-A visa program has expanded significantly, creating a large pool of temporary, migrant laborers.
   • The Department of Labor certified 385,000 H2-A positions for 2025, a substantial increase from 48,000 two decades ago.
   • The structure of the program binds workers to a single employer, creating conditions analogous to indentured servitude and preventing access to decent work as defined by SDG 8.
   • This program has been utilized to displace local and unionized workers, applying downward pressure on general wage standards in the agricultural sector.

Systemic Inequality and Institutional Justice: SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) & SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

The current agricultural labor system highlights profound challenges to achieving SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). The system operates on a dual standard that exploits migrant labor for economic gain while denying workers fundamental rights and security.

• Increased Inequality: The practice of utilizing undocumented labor when needed and subsequently removing it through deportation creates a highly unequal power dynamic that benefits employers at the expense of a vulnerable population.
• Institutional Weakness: The redirection of law enforcement activities based on industry pressure rather than consistent policy points to a weakness in institutional justice (SDG 16). This selective enforcement undermines the rule of law and fosters an environment where labor exploitation can persist. This is not a recent phenomenon but a long-standing issue within the nation’s labor history.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger

  The article is centered on agriculture and food production. It discusses the harvesting of crops like fruits, vegetables, wine grapes, and apples, and the potential risks to the harvest (“endangering the harvest,” “Immigration Raids Leave Crops Unharvested”). This directly relates to ensuring stable food production systems.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  This is a primary focus of the article. It details the poor labor conditions of farmworkers, including low wages (“work for a pittance”), vulnerability, and the weakening of union power. The description of H2-A visa holders as “indentured servants” points directly to a lack of decent work.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The article highlights the deep inequalities faced by migrant and immigrant farmworkers based on their legal status. They are treated as a disposable labor force—tolerated when needed for the harvest but deported or kept in a state of fear and vulnerability otherwise. This points to systemic inequality affecting a specific population group.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article critiques the application of immigration laws, describing ICE’s actions as “political” and selectively enforced to benefit growers while terrorizing workers. This selective enforcement undermines the rule of law and equal access to justice for migrant communities.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 2: Zero Hunger

   • Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices. The article discusses the threat to the harvest (“70% of your crop doesn’t get picked and can go bad in one day”), which directly concerns the resilience and sustainability of the food production system, which is shown to be dependent on a vulnerable labor force.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all… and equal pay for work of equal value. The article’s mention of workers earning a “pittance” and “low wages” shows a failure to meet this target.
   • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery… The characterization of the H2-A program as creating “indentured servants” for growers directly relates to concerns about forms of forced labor.
   • Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers… The article explicitly states that the threat of ICE raids “has been enough to weaken union efforts” and makes it a “risk to protest low wages or organize other workers,” indicating a clear failure to protect labor rights and ensure a secure environment for migrant workers.

3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.7: Facilitate orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people, including through the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies. The system described in the article—relying on undocumented workers, using exploitative visa programs (H2-A), and employing “vicious” deportations—is the opposite of an orderly, safe, and well-managed migration policy.

4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all. The article suggests that immigration enforcement is not applied equally but is a political tool (“ICE, which is nothing if not political”) used to “terrorize farmworker communities” while ensuring growers have a workforce. This selective application of the law undermines the rule of law.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicators for SDG 2 (Zero Hunger)

   • Agricultural Production Volume: The article provides specific data points that serve as direct indicators of agricultural output. It states that “Wine grape production… is up 3 percent over 2024” and that the apple harvest saw a “6 percent increase.” These figures measure the success of the harvest.

2. Indicators for SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

   • Wages of Farmworkers: While no specific dollar amounts are given, the article repeatedly implies that wages are a key indicator of decent work by using terms like “low wages” and “pittance.” Measuring the average wage of farmworkers would be a direct indicator.
   • Prevalence of Precarious Work Contracts: The article provides a specific number for H2-A visas, which it describes as creating “indentured servants.” The number of certified H2-A jobs (“385,000 H2-A jobs”) serves as a quantitative indicator for the prevalence of this form of precarious employment.
   • Freedom of Association: The article implies that union activity is an indicator of protected labor rights. The observation that ICE raids “weaken union efforts” suggests that measuring union membership rates or the number of labor protests among farmworkers could be an indicator of progress toward Target 8.8.

3. Indicators for SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

   • Number of Migrant Workers in Temporary or Precarious Status: The article cites the increase in H2-A jobs from “48,000 two decades ago” to “385,000” in 2025. This number serves as an indicator of the scale of temporary migration programs that the article links to inequality and exploitation.
   • Proportion of Undocumented Workers in a Sector: The quote from a farmer stating, “In the fields, I would say 70% of the workers are gone,” after raids began, implies a very high percentage of undocumented workers in the agricultural sector. This proportion is an indicator of reliance on a vulnerable and unprotected population.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: prospect.org