Migrant worker Veronica Jarmillo starts work at 7 a.m., picking apples during the two-month harvest season in Missouri, says Harvest Public Media in a story about farm laborers and their vital role in agriculture. Jarmillo is paid $13 for each crate, about the size of a large bathtub, that she fills with apples. Jaramillo has been a migrant worker since age 13. Her mother, an immigrant from Mexico, says one year, the family couldn’t find housing, so they lived out of their car. “It was difficult, but that’s the life of an immigrant,” she said.
A USDA survey says there are about 3 million migrant and seasonal farm workers. Half of them lack proper documentation, says another USDA report, and a quarter of them have incomes below the poverty line, An official at United Migrant Opportunity Service says migrant workers are isolated socially – “They’re sort of this hidden society that is just working in the fields.”