This article is Part 2 of a series on seasonal agricultural labour. See Part 1 here.

For its 250-year history, the United States has been the largest immigration centre in the world.¹ As of 2024, the country was home to 52,375,047 immigrants.² This is the largest number of immigrants of any country. As a nation of immigrants, the United States has created a unique culture of immigration. The foundation of this culture is that immigration to the United States is success. And what happens next is an extension of this success. This rule applies to both legal and illegal immigrants.

Peculiarities of the US immigration environment

Although there are approximately 185 legal ways (visa programs) to enter the United States,³ a third of immigrants do so illegally. That is, of the 52 million immigrants, almost 14 million entered the United States illegally.⁴ The concentration of illegal immigrants in the agricultural sector in some states is so high that it raises the question, “Are authorities truly combating illegal immigration, or is illegal immigration officially encouraged as a supplement to legal immigration?” We acknowledged this possibility in the first article of our series, “The hidden side of seasonal agricultural labour.”⁵

Let’s look at the data together. In the state of California, 80.3 per cent of agricultural workers are immigrants. In quantitative terms, this amounts to 242,159 people. However, the share of illegal immigrants is 40.9 per cent. That is, about 100,000 people. In the state of Washington, the share of illegal agricultural workers is 46.6 per cent. That is, almost half of agricultural workers are illegal immigrants. The situation is not much better in other states.⁶ Overall, immigrants make up 48.9 per cent, or 814,649 workers in US agriculture. And the share of illegal immigrants is 27.3 per cent, or more than 400,000 people.⁶ That is, more than half of immigrants, or a quarter of all agricultural workers, work illegally. It is hard to believe that the American government can’t do something about this. Most likely, there is some hidden meaning to this. And this hidden meaning is hidden in US domestic and foreign policy.

The US government relies on a classic approach to attracting labor immigrants. It has become a magnet for citizens of Mexico and the less developed countries of Central and South America. Eleven of the 14 million undocumented immigrants came from there.⁴ Specifically: Mexico – 5,530,000 (40%), Guatemala – 1,402,000 (10%), Honduras – 1,098,000 (8%), El Salvador – 1,078,000 (8%), Venezuela – 486,000 (4%), Colombia – 351,000 (3%), and Ecuador – 225,000 (2%).

Undocumented immigrants stimulate the US economy. This is not only due to cheap immigrant labor. Despite their illegal status, immigrants pay significant taxes. Yes! Taxes! And this is another unique feature of the US immigration system. Paying taxes in the US does not depend on immigration status. To encourage residents to pay taxes, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). In addition to ITINs, a significant portion of non-citizens, including undocumented immigrants, pay taxes using Social Security numbers (SSNs). Taxes are levied even on people who have overstayed their immigrant visas.

One source reports, “In 2022, undocumented immigrants paid a total of approximately US$96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes. Of this amount, US$59.4 billion went to the federal government, and US$37.3 billion went to state and local governments. Of the state and local taxes paid by undocumented immigrants in 2022, approximately US$15.1 billion (46%) were sales and excise taxes, approximately US$10.4 billion (31%) were property taxes (both housing and rent), and approximately US$7 billion (21%) were personal income taxes and business taxes.”7

Illegal immigrants pay taxes to receive social benefits, use U.S. bank accounts, obtain other benefits, and even legalise their status. The U.S. tax system is designed in such a way that even criminal activity can be taxed. For example, many prostitutes pay taxes to receive social benefits, even though prostitution is prohibited at the federal level and in all but one state. The IRS, while receiving payments, does not report the taxpayer’s illegal activity to the police.⁸

Therefore, illegal immigrants feel free to pay taxes if they want to for some benefit or under the influence of circumstances.

In addition to economic benefits, illegal immigrants provide political benefits.

Non-citizens may, in some cases, participate in elections in the United States. Although federal and most state laws prohibit this, undocumented immigrants can vote in local elections in some municipalities in the District of Columbia, as well as in Maryland, Vermont, and California. From 1776 to 1924, certain categories of non-citizens were able to vote in elections at various levels in 33 states.⁹

Illegal immigrants also vote in elections, violating existing laws. There are reports that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants voted in some presidential elections.¹⁰ However, there are reports that the influence of these illegal immigrants on the elections was minimal.¹¹

Be that as it may, illegal immigrants have become the subject of political speculation. The presence of a large number of illegal immigrants in the United States benefits all politicians, regardless of their views on immigration. Politicians who promise legalization for illegal immigrants have a greater chance of winning the votes of voters who are immigrants or support immigrants. And vice versa. Politicians who promise to rid the United States of illegal immigrants have a greater chance of winning the votes of voters who disapprove of immigrants. But that’s not the most interesting part.

There are so many illegal immigrants in the United States that it’s impossible to deport them home. According to various estimates, deporting all illegal immigrants would require US$265-315 billion and several decades.⁴ This precludes mass deportation of illegal immigrants. Therefore, instead of deporting illegal immigrants, politicians are increasingly discussing legalisation or illegalisation of immigrants. This means that most illegal immigrants are no longer at risk of deportation. The issue is whether the immigrant will continue to live in the United States legally or illegally.

While politicians debate this issue, immigrants continue to live and work in the United States. A significant portion of immigrants do so in rural areas of the country, working on local farms.

Immigrants in US agriculture

Immigrants are crucial to US agriculture. This sector employs 2.4 million farmworkers. Of these, 70 per cent are foreign-born. Nearly half of these foreign-born are illegal immigrants. Deporting these immigrants could devastate US agriculture. Raids to identify and deport illegal farmworkers paralyse entire counties. For example, in Ventura County, between 25 per cent and 45 per cent of farmworkers stopped working after large-scale raids began in June 2025.¹²

The vulnerability of foreign agricultural workers is exacerbated by systemic problems in agriculture. The first of these problems is low wages. In 2024, agricultural wages were approximately 60 per cent of non-farm wages. The ratio of these two figures was US$18.12 and US$30.13 per hour, respectively.¹³

The second problem is the lack of job growth. From the 1950s to the 1990s, the number of jobs in agriculture declined due to increasing mechanisation. Although job losses have stalled since the 1990s, job growth has never resumed. As a result, there are now 51 per cent fewer wage workers in US agriculture than in the 1950s.¹³

The third problem is inadequate legislation that fails to protect agricultural workers. In the US, there are legal grounds for paying agricultural workers less than the legal minimum wage. For example, such wages could be paid to workers primarily engaged in pasture-based livestock farming and some types of manual harvesting.¹⁴ It’s not surprising that farmers prefer to save on wages even as their business income grows. For all farms, labor costs (including contract labor and cash profit costs) averaged 10.4 per cent of gross cash income during 2021-2023, compared to 11.0 per cent in 1998-2000.¹³ There are other challenges, too.

It’s no surprise that the US government is trying to avoid mass deportations of undocumented agricultural workers and is attempting to classify these individuals as a special class of labor immigrants.¹⁵ Potential protection from deportation at the political level is one of the reasons why foreigners prefer to work in US agriculture. US lawmakers have developed several laws to legalise undocumented immigrants. These laws include the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (ADPA), the Dream Act of 2021, the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, and the US Citizenship Act of 2021. Thanks to these laws, more than 500,000 undocumented agricultural workers will be able to legalise their status and become US citizens.¹⁶

Another reason is the possibility of employment without qualifications or experience. Most non-US citizens occupy low-skilled jobs. The share of foreigners among “farm laborers, graders, and sorters” is 44 per cent. But in the category of “farm managers, inspectors, and supervisors,” foreigners make up only 17 per cent.¹⁴ Agriculture has the highest share of illegal immigrants. This figure is almost 10 times higher than the overall US economy.¹⁷

But the main reason agriculture is attractive is well-being. Immigrants working in the fields and living in low-cost agricultural areas of the United States do well. Despite relatively low wages, 83 per cent of undocumented immigrants working in agriculture live above the poverty line.¹⁸ In some areas of large cities, poverty rates are higher. For example, in the Bronx in New York City, almost 25 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.

In 2023, agricultural workers earned an average of $37,370 annually. This is less than the $65,470 average for all U.S. occupations. But this income is above the minumum living wage in the United States.^19,20 It is very interesting that the legal or illegal status of immigrants does not significantly affect their well-being. On average, the share of undocumented immigrants living below the poverty line is only 5 per cent higher than that of legal immigrants.²¹ In 2021, the share of legal and undocumented immigrants living below the poverty line is less than the share of US citizens living below the poverty line in 1959.²² That is, the well-being of immigrants, albeit with some lag, follows the well-being of US citizens.

Conclusions

A study of immigration to the United States leads to a surprising conclusion. The power of the United States enhances the strength of every immigrant, regardless of status. This is because American politicians don’t suppress immigrants, but rather empower them to be themselves. This makes the United States the best home for immigrants.

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_immigrant_and_emigrant_population
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_the_United_States
4. https://www.epi.org/publication/unauthorized-immigrants/
5. https://arr.news/2025/11/24/the-hidden-side-of-seasonal-agricultural-labour/
6. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/immigration-and-agriculture/
7. https://forumtogether.org/article/undocumented-immigrants-are-integral-to-our-nation/
8. https://www.opednews.com/populum/page.php?f=April-15-is-coming-soon-w-April-Fool_Taxes_Taxes_Taxpayers-240417-641.html
9. https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_permitting_noncitizens_to_vote_in_the_United_States
10. https://www.justfactsdaily.com/quantifying-illegal-votes-cast-by-non-citizens-in-the-battleground-states-of-the-2020-presidential-election
11. https://www.cato.org/blog/noncitizens-dont-illegally-vote-detectable-numbers
12. https://abic.us/agriculture-securing-the-agricultural-workforce-america-relies-on/
13. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor
14. https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/agpay/minimumwage/
15. https://theconversation.com/these-people-do-it-naturally-president-trumps-views-on-immigrant-farmworkers-reflect-a-long-history-of-how-farming-has-been-idealized-and-practiced-in-america-262858
16. https://cmsny.org/agricultural-workers-rosenbloom-083022/
17. https://forumtogether.org/article/undocumented-immigrants-are-integral-to-our-nation/
18. https://cmsny.org/agricultural-workers-rosenbloom-083022/
19. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm
20. https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes_nat.htm#00-0000
21. https://cmsny.org/undocumented-eligible-to-naturalize-population-democratizing-data-release-080421/
22. https://usafacts.org/articles/what-does-living-at-the-poverty-line-look-like/