Lack of visas for workers in the agriculture industry impacting jobs
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More than 64,000 thousand new H-2B visas will be made available by the government — but Valley farmers say they're being left out.
Those receiving the visas will work in industries like shrimping, construction and food service. But the visas are nonagricultural — leaving growers empty-handed as they search for workers.
“We need 2.5 million workers [nationwide]; we want them to be legal,” Texas International Produce Association President Dante Galeazzi said.
Galeazzi estimates up to 4,000 people in the Valley work in the fresh produce industry.
“Could we use more, absolutely,” Galeazzi said. “I can tell you right now we have farmers in the Valley who are not expanding their plantings, who are not growing, even though they have customers who would take additional product. They don't want to put more product in the ground because they don't think they can get enough people there to harvest it before the product goes bad in the field."
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