By admin 
When U.S. Border Patrol agents carried out ‘Operation Return to Sender’ in Kern County in January 2025, targeting roads taken by farmworkers on their way to work, advocates knew the ramifications of immigration raids could leave lasting marks on the undocumented farmworker community.
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A new in-depth survey of undocumented farmworkers found 92% said immigration raids and deportations affected their employment, and 88% expressed worry and fear of detention and deportation.
The survey, ““ was released Thursday morning by the UFW Foundation, which advocates for farmworkers and immigrants across the United States. It aims to understand the impact of immigration enforcement during the second Trump administration on farmworkers and their families.
The survey, conducted June 27 to July 11, 2025, by the UFW Foundation, using its extensive farmworker database, asked more than 2,000 farmworkers from California and 15 other states about their experiences and perspectives during the ongoing immigration enforcement raids and mass deportations.
“We hope this survey will shine light so those in power can understand the realities faced by those who are the most powerless,” UFW Foundation CEO Erica Lomeli Corcoran said in a statement.
Most of the 2,225 farmworkers who took the survey were undocumented workers. They make up half of the farm labor work force, said the UFW Foundation.
Jonathan Angulo, a UFW Foundation research and policy analyst fellow who conducted the survey, told The Fresno Bee, “All the surveys that you hear about the impacts of immigration enforcement come from the employer side,” while this survey focuses on farmworkers directly.
“The biggest takeaway, which is not surprising to many of us who know the experiences of farmworkers and their families, is that there is a real genuine need for immigration reform,” Angulo said. “Farmworkers and their loved ones are really worried about family unity and not being separated from their family members. Those were some of the top responses.”
About 90% of the farmworkers who completed the survey said they fear being separated from their family because of deportation.
“I am deeply worried about being separated from my family, now more than ever, because I do not know what will happen,” Farmworker Yazmin Alvarado told The Fresno Bee.
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Alvarado, a DACA recipient who participated in the survey, said she is one of the many farmworkers affected by the immigration raids, and her biggest fear is to be separated from her U.S. born children.
“I am living with uncertainty, stress, and anxiety. My family and I have had to make changes to try to protect ourselves considering this entire situation,” she said. “We have had to create a family emergency plan to prepare for the worst.”
Angulo said farmworkers were asked the first thing they’d do if Congress were to pass an immigration reform law and the president were to sign it. About 87% said they would visit a family member either in the United States or in their countries of origin.
He said many farmworkers avoid traveling within the United States because they fear checkpoints or traffic stops. Almost half of the farmworkers surveyed have not lived in their countries of origin for years.
Congress has not passed a comprehensive immigration reform law since 1986. Bipartisan legislation, such as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, has been introduced in Congress a few times in recent years, but it has yet to pass, leaving undocumented farmworkers without a path to legal status.
Angulo said that of those surveyed, 61% said they have shopped less, 29% have not sought medical attention, and 21% are careful about using social media. Last summer, Central Valley area medical clinics saw a “significant” decline in medical appointments due to ICE raids as patients feared immigrations enforcements near clinics.
Angulo said 80% of farmworkers who took the survey have lived in the United States for more than 10 years, while 41% said they have lived in their communities for 20 years. According to the survey, 40% have worked in agriculture for more than 20 years.
To view the complete survey, go to ufwfoundation.org/research.
This story was originally published July 30, 2026 at 11:00 AM with the headline “UFW surveys undocumented farmworkers about immigration raids. How were they affected?.”
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