Fri, 17 Jan 2025

The US farm workers coming from Guatemala - on a legal visa

Trump will target undocumented migrants but it is unclear if legal visas like the H-2A will survive.

* Around 5,000 Guatemalans travel to the US each year under a visa scheme called H-2A, which allows temporary farm work.
* The workers can stay for up to 12 months and earn significantly more than they would in Guatemala, where many earn around $10 per day.
* However, there are also estimated to be over 675,000 undocumented Guatemalans living in the US, with some paying thousands of dollars to coyotes (human traffickers) to make the journey.
* The H-2A visa scheme is seen as a legitimate way for workers from Guatemala to earn a good income and send remittances back home, which are a significant source of income for the country.
* Some recruitment companies in Guatemala have been set up specifically to help people find work through the H-2A visa scheme and avoid scams.
* The US government is expected to get tough on undocumented immigrants under President Donald Trump's administration, but it's unclear if this will include limiting or stopping the H-2A visa scheme.
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