Migrant farm workers go on high alert amid immigration raids [View all]
Source: ABC News
February 8, 2025, 6:25 AM
California's Central Valley is considered "America's bread basket," supplying a quarter of the nation's food and producing 40% of its fruits, nuts and other table foods.
However, roughly half of California's farm workers are undocumented immigrants, so President Donald Trump's plan to fast track mass deportation and the images of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across the country have spread fear on these farms. It started shortly before Trump returned to office on Jan. 20. The U.S. Border Patrol raids in Central Valley's southern Kern County -- dubbed "Operation Return to Sender" -- hit close to home for people in the region.
"Op Return to Sender brought 78 undocumented noncitizens, many w/criminal records, out of the shadows," USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino wrote in a Jan. 16 post on X. The people arrested didn't all have criminal records, and immigrant rights groups say fear is trickling through undocumented workers.
"You have families that are being ripped apart. You have community members that are living in fear," immigration attorney Ana Alicia Huerta told ABC News. "They're scared to go outside. They're asking neighbors and friends who have status to drive them back and forth because they're concerned that they may be targeted." Advocacy groups say the raids have prompted some farmworkers to stay home, which could reduce the harvesting of produce and other goods.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/migrant-farm-workers-high-alert-amid-immigration-raids/story?id=118434172
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