This story originally appeared in Truthout on October 8, 2024. It is shared here with permission.
As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida, residents are preparing for the second catastrophic storm in less than two weeks. Since Hurricane Helene made landfall in Big Bend, Florida on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane, communities across the Southeast have been grappling with the aftermath of the storm's destruction. Among the hardest hit — and most overlooked — are farmworkers in south Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture estimates the storm caused billions of dollars in damage to the state's agriculture industry, affecting more than 100 farmers. Missing from many of these headlines, however, is Helene's impact on the predominantly Latino farmworker community, many of whom are undocumented or migrant workers on temporary visas. Since Hurricane Helene slammed into Georgia, destroying pecan farms, poultry houses, cotton fields and more, thousands of farmworkers have had nowhere to turn as they struggle with decimated homes and lost livelihoods.
“I have seen just about every struggle that farmworkers experience in their daily lives, but magnified 100 times,” said Alma Salazar Young, the UFW Foundation’s Georgia state director. “Everyone in South Georgia is struggling, especially in the hardest-hit areas, but farmworkers are still an afterthought. No one thought to bother to look after her.”
Georgia is one of the states that most employ migrant agricultural workers under the federal H-2A program, which offers temporary visas for agricultural work. Even before Hurricane Helene, living conditions for farm workers in Georgia were notoriously poor. The H-2A program requires employers to provide their migrant workers with housing that meets temporary labor camp standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A legal expert noted that these standards already represent the bare minimum and have not been updated in decades. However, they are often not met by employers; Federal investigations have cited Georgia farms for mold and water damage, dangerous exposed wiring and more.
Undocumented workers, on the other hand, rent out their homes, usually single-wide trailers. As these workers are desperate for affordable housing, they are also often forced into substandard conditions, including RVs with holes in the exterior walls and drywall, leaky roofs and faucets, light bulbs dangling from wires, pest infestations, and front doors without locks that only pass through A safety rope is secured. And that was before the storm. When Hurricane Helene hit, these shabby structures stood little chance against gusts of 90 miles per hour.
The approximately 35,000 H-2A workers in Georgia, as well as countless numbers of undocumented immigrants, are not eligible for FEMA disaster assistance.
“Conditions for the workers were already terrible to begin with, but now many of them are unaware that they are homeless,” said Young, who has traveled to the various farmworker communities in south Georgia affected by Hurricane Helene . She has seen trailers with their roofs blown off, littered with rubble and floors collapsing, while families still tried to take shelter in the remains.
The approximately 35,000 H-2A workers in Georgia, as well as countless numbers of undocumented immigrants, are not eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster assistance, nor are they eligible for food stamps or unemployment assistance.
The financial burden is compounded by the fact that many farm workers were already living in extreme poverty before the hurricane. The minimum wage for H-2A workers in the state is $14.68, while undocumented workers often earn less — typically $10 to $12 an hour, Young said. If workers are paid by the piece—say, for a basket of blueberries or a busload of watermelons—that hourly rate can be even more paltry. Now that fields and farms have been destroyed, it is unclear when, if ever, workers will be able to earn a living again.
Many agents who hire companies to recruit H-2A workers charge these workers illegal fees, which the workers often pay by taking out oppressive loans. If they are unable to work, these workers will also be unable to repay their debts and will also face difficulties in supporting themselves and their families. Visas for H-2A workers are also tied to a specific employer; If that employer no longer has work for them, they must return to their home countries, especially Mexico, or risk breaking the law.
In the absence of government aid, local churches and groups such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army are the only sources of help for many farmworkers in Georgia. But these resources are not available without barriers.
“Even before the storm hit, we were receiving information about the storm and shelter information, and I had to translate it before I could text it to our farmworker leaders because it wasn't provided in Spanish,” Young said. Sometimes information is posted in Facebook groups that most farmworkers may not be familiar with. “Even if they find out, they won’t hear about any kind of help until it’s no longer available.”
I'm just so disheartened by how little everyone cares about farm workers in general, because during the pandemic they have been risking their lives to bring food to everyone.
Additionally, police and National Guard members were often present at aid distribution sites, discouraging undocumented workers from accessing these resources. To crack down on undocumented immigrants, Georgia passed House Bill 1105 in May, which requires local law enforcement to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if an arrested person cannot provide documents. Even though the Red Cross and other groups aren't asking for names or identification, Young said farmworkers are still afraid to show up: “They're not going to risk being deported for trying to get something to eat.”
In addition to food and water, diapers and baby formula are currently the most requested items by farm workers. “You just try to take it day by day,” Young said. “They haven't had a chance to think about the future while they're trying to figure out what they're going to eat today.”
Immigrants form the foundation of the country's food supply and make up an estimated 73 percent of agricultural workers in the United States. Young joined the UFW Foundation after working as director of Valdosta State University's College Assistance Migrant Program, witnessing firsthand the sacrifices farmworkers were making to put food on tables across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic .
“I'm just so disheartened by how little everyone cares about farm workers in general, because during the pandemic they have been risking their lives to bring food to everyone. Not just in multiple states, but across the country,” Young said. “Now that they are in need, we have forgotten them.”
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