For U.S. farmers and Mexican workers, it’s tough being legal
Jose Gill, 23, from Tamaulipas state in Mexico, is starting his second year as a guest worker at Barr Evergreens in Crumpler, N.C. His employer, Rusty Barr, pays for transportation from Mexico, housing and insurance, among other things, and must pay such workers about a third more than the state minimum wage. It’s still poor by U.S. standards, but the workers say it’s better than what they can find back home. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Jorge Lopez, 27, has been coming to the U.S. as a guest worker at Christmas tree farms for seven years (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Onesimo Hernandez, 38, front, and Alfonso Trejo, 20, are H-2A guest workers at DMG Farms in Angier, N.C. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Onesimo Hernandez, 38, works in tobacco production in Angier, N.C. His accommodations are paid for by his employers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Guest workers arrive in Vass, N.C., after a long bus ride from Mexico. Transportation from Mexico is among the costs borne by employers in the H-2A gues worker program. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
A worker shows the documents that have made it legal for him to work seasonally in North Carolina under the H-2A guest worker program. He gets a new visa each year if he and his employer meet the requirements. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Rusty Barr owns Barr Evergreens in Crumpler, N.C. He uses Mexican workers under the H-2A visa program, but he says the costs can put him at a disadvantage with operations that use undocumented workers. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Julian Lopez, 44, has been coming to the United States from Tamaulipas state in Mexico as a guest worker for the past 13 years. He is often away from his family nine or 10 months each year. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Jose Gill, 23, left, and Jorge Adrian, 27, move a tree at Barr Evergreens. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Guest workers from Mexico unload trees at Barr Evergreens in Crumpler, N.C. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
A row of phones in a shop in Crumpler, N.C., caters to guest workers who use them to keep in touch with their families in Mexico and transfer money back home. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)