Mexican farmworkers harvest lettuce on US soil, defy Trumps immigration talks

A migrant farmworker with an H-2A visa harvests romaine lettuce in California, U.S. While about half of U.S. crop workers are in the country illegally, the H-2A visas allow them to work temporarily as seasonal agricultural labourers on American farms. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

Published on: May 17, 2017 1:15 PM IST

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A migrant farmworker with an H-2A visa harvests romaine lettuce in California, U.S. While about half of U.S. crop workers are in the country illegally, the H-2A visas allow them to work temporarily as seasonal agricultural labourers on American farms. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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On an overcast spring morning, about 40 Mexican men turned out in the predawn hours to board a bus for California’s Salinas Valley where they would harvest lettuce over the next three days. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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Migrant farmworkers with H-2A visas wash their hands after travelling from their labour camp to the fields to harvest romaine lettuce. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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The wheel on a truck is seen next to lettuce as migrant farmworkers harvest romaine lettuce. The men came to the country through a labour brokerage company, Fresh Harvest, which brings in H-2A labourers to work on farms in need of temporary workers. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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Employers who bring in workers on the visas must provide them with free transportation to and from the United States as well as housing and food once they arrive. Wage minimums are set by the government and are often higher than farmers are used to paying. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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Spooked by President Donald Trump’s talk of a crackdown on illegal immigrants,their families are worried about the journey. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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According to the workers, they travel to U.S soil only to work and that it does not involve any violation of law. (Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS)

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Mexican migrant farmworkers eat during a break while harvesting romaine lettuce in California. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)

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While use of the H-2A program has steadily increased over the past decade, it still accounts for only about 10 percent of farmworkers in the United States, according to government data. In 2016, the government granted 134,000 H-2A visas. (Lucy Nicholson /REUTERS)