CALIFORNIA – A recent survey conducted by the UFW Foundation has shed light on the experiences of undocumented farmworkers during a time of fear around immigration enforcement, a feat the organization says is a first.
“Under the Sun and Out of the Shadows” is a 29-page report of findings from a novel survey of 2,250 farmworkers, the majority of whom were undocumented, which was announced by the UFW Foundation on July 31. The survey asked questions about farmworkers’ experiences during ongoing immigration raids and mass deportations, and about their hopes and aspirations for their future in the U.S. through immigration reform.
“For too long, academic and government researchers and policymakers have faced significant barriers to accessing and developing comprehensive data on the people whose very lives are most directly affected by immigration raids,” said Erica Lomeli Corcoran, UFW Foundation’s CEO, in a press release. “This is the first in-depth study to survey the concerns and fears of undocumented farm workers as well as their hopes and aspirations. We hope this survey will shine a light so those in power can understand the realities faced by those who are the most powerless.”
The survey was conducted by Jonathan Angulo, the UFW Foundation’s research and policy analyst fellow and San Diego State University Imperial Valley adjunct lecturer. The majority of respondents were from California, but responses also came from Washington state, Michigan, Georgia and 12 other states.
The report states that the survey was sent as a SurveyMonkey link through the foundation’s text messaging program starting June 27, 2025 and concluding on July 11, 2025. Notably, the survey did not directly ask respondents about their documented status, instead asking questions such as, “Have recent immigrant raids or mass deportations affected your employment as a farm worker?” to get as close as possible to a farm workers’ authorization status without jeopardizing their identities. Respondents were not required to answer all questions.
Survey highlights show that since Trump’s immigration crackdown began in early 2025:
- Some 88% fear detention and deportation;
- Some 92% report immigration raids and deportations affected their employment;
- Some 90% worry about family separation because of deportations, 49% have not lived in their country of origin for years, 43% fear being unable to return to the U.S. and 13% fear persecution in their birthplaces;
- Some 76% desire protections from deportation and detention and 53% hope for a pathway to legal status and eventual U.S. citizenship, while 37% want to be able to attend and organize their children’s school activities;
- Some 61% of respondents have shopped less, 29% have not sought medical attention and 21% are careful about using their social media;
- Some 80% have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years, with 41% for more than 20 years, revealing deep roots in their communities; and
- More than 40% have labored in agriculture for more than 20 years, demonstrating their professional experience and labor skills.
As outlined by the results, respondents selected deportation and detention protections as their highest policy preference when placed alongside a living wage, U.S. citizenship and benefits, which the report says underscores “the urgency of achieving freedom from immigration enforcement for their families and their communities.” Fifty three percent of respondents said they want to take advantage of federal policies to eventually acquire U.S. citizenship.
Using some of these insights as a baseline, the report advocates for lawmakers to consider the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA), which would allow undocumented farmworkers to stay by continuing to work in agriculture so long as they pass criminal background checks and national security tests.
According to the report, the FWMA passed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan votes in 2019 and 2021, but stalled in the Senate. The report states that members from both political parties have reintroduced the FWMA, and that “it remains the bipartisan path towards earned immigration reform.”
In its conclusion, the report states that this survey has allowed the nation’s farm workers to have their voice heard, and emphasized that the UFW Foundation and its allies will continue to fight for immigration reform.
“This survey was made possible because the UFW Foundation is uniquely positioned to do what others struggle to do,” said Angulo in a press release. “Despite the very real risk of arrest, deportation and family separation, this survey reveals the majority of undocumented workers still aspire to more fully participate in the country they so faithfully serve through meaningful immigration reform, which hasn’t been addressed in nearly 40 years.”
