Washington State’s agricultural industry — ranked first in the nation in the production of apples, blueberries, cherries, and hops — relies heavily on immigrant farmworkers who have sustained the sector for decades. In recent years, however, the rapid expansion of the H-2A guestworker program has begun to reshape agricultural labor markets across the state. Originally intended as a temporary solution to labor shortages, the H-2A program is increasingly being used as a primary hiring mechanism, raising concerns about the displacement of local farmworkers and the erosion of job opportunities in already vulnerable communities.
This report examines how the growth of the H-2A program is affecting local immigrant farmworkers in Washington State. Drawing on 75 interviews with farmworkers, advocates, growers, and state officials, 179 surveys of farmworkers in Eastern Washington, and evidence from state enforcement actions, the analysis documents how recruitment practices, regulatory gaps, and weak oversight are reshaping hiring patterns and limiting access to work.
Copublished by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.