Migrant Farm Workers Research Paper

Words: 739
Pages: 3

Imagine you are a migrant farm worker who has a family back in Mexico and it is up to you to support them with money. You travel to Washington, in need of a job, and eventually find one picking the seasonal crop, cherries, at a farm. However, you need somewhere to stay in the meantime. Now imagine trying to find inexpensive housing. The task seems easy, however, because migrant farm workers do not stay for long, housing options become extremely limited and you end up having no choice except to live in the houses the grower provides for you. At this time you become trapped in a house with 10 other workers, some with the same goal as you. The rooms are covered in filth, as the amount of people only create more dust in the air. The extremely …show more content…
When a rush of migrant workers comes to Washington to pick a seasonal crop, usually cherries and apples, the availability of housing becomes fairly little due to the increase in population and lack of rental houses near farms. Another issue is the amount of time a migrant worker actually stays in the U.S. In the U.S., only about 77% of all farm workers work for more than 90 days, about three months. Landlords are less likely to rent to a tenant who only stays for several weeks or months, and suddenly …show more content…
This leads to the problem of workers having an insufficient amount of money to pay for housing. In Washington, migrant farm workers make around $12,500 a year, which is highly close to the current poverty line for one individual at $11,770. According to a 2012 census, Spokane County contains more farms than any other county in Washington, about 2,501 farms. The median rent in Spokane County is $657 per month. This means farm workers in Spokane County would pay $7,884 a year, just for rent. For migrant farm workers, this is, by far, the most challenging obstacle to