Immigration raids in California's Central Valley are disrupting agricultural production as farmworkers stay home amid fears of arrest, leaving growers struggling to harvest crops and fulfill orders, according to a new report by Ag Alert.
Kevin Herman, owner of The Specialty Crop Co. in Madera, said approximately half his 100 fig harvesters missed more than a week of work, reducing production and preventing the company from meeting orders from retailers across North America.
"It's a little bit of a challenge when you have a sales order for five pallets of fruit and you only pick two or three," Herman told Ag Alert.
The labor shortage has also affected melon production. Fresno County grower Joe Del Bosque said several employees stayed home after immigration agents were spotted nearby, slowing operations that depend on approximately 20 workers trained to harvest, pack and transport cantaloupes.
Joe Garcia, a farm labor contractor employing about 3,000 workers, said immigration arrests at supermarkets and roadsides, along with rumors of enforcement activity, have discouraged employees from reporting to work even when agents have not entered farms.
The disruptions come amid increased immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump. According to federal data analyzed by the Deportation Data Project and cited by Ag Alert, ICE arrested and booked 41,786 immigrants into detention nationwide in July, approximately 74% of whom had no criminal record.
Growers are concerned that continued enforcement could interfere with the approaching citrus harvest, adding to financial pressures already affecting the agricultural sector. Trump recently announced $8 billion in assistance for farmers as diesel prices remained approximately 75% higher than a year earlier. The Agriculture Department projected a 4.5% increase in farm production expenses in 2026.
The potential consequences of a prolonged labor shortage extend beyond individual farms. California produces more than one-third of the nation's vegetables and roughly three-quarters of its fruits and nuts, making the availability of agricultural workers important to food production across the country.
That dependence is also reflected in rural public opinion. An AP-KFF poll published in early October found that approximately seven in 10 rural voters consider temporary or seasonal immigrant farmworkers important to their local economies, although respondents remain divided over immigration enforcement.
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